Monday, March 31, 2008

That's Right, I'm On a Roll

In continuation of my carrot pulp recipes... Not my picture, unfortunately, but it looked just as picturesque.



Avocado Carrot Quiche


I used the following three ingredients in place of 1 cup of sour cream:
8 oz Mascarpone Cheese
Half a cup (or so) Reduced Fat Milk
Half a cup (or so) Alfredo Sauce

3 eggs, beaten
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup carrot pulp
Approx. 1/2 tsp Granulated (or fresh) Garlic
Approx. 1/2 tsp Granulated (or fresh) Onion
Dash of salt and black pepper to taste
2 ripe avocados, sliced about 1/4-inch thick
1 (9-inch) deep pie shell

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Mix mascarpone cheese, eggs, and cheddar. Stir in garlic, onion, salt and pepper. Lay avocados on bottom of pie shell. There should be just enough slices to cover the bottom. Pour cheese mixture over avocado slices and spread out evenly. Bake until set, golden, and puffy, about 40 to 45 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

You'll have some left over since the recipe I modified originally was for 2 quiche.


Original Recipe Here:

http://www.recipegoldmine.com/piequiche/avocado-quiche.html
Carroty Goodness

After the madness of the last week, it was time for a little baking and chilling (after working at the bookstore for 5 hours, natch), an evening making carrot juice in my brand spankin' new Jack LaLane Power Juicer was just what the doctor ordered. I had a lot of pulp left over, so I looked up this recipe on AllRecipes.com and it was AMAZING. I added the cream cheese icing, but it honestly didn't need it. It was that good. And without the icing, it doesn't have any refined sugar or butter in it. Might also taste yummy with some nuts or raisins in it.



CARROT PULP BREAD


Ingredients:

2/3 cup of vegetable oil
3/4 cup of honey
2 eggs
1-1 /2 cups of carrot pulp
1-1 /2 cups of whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of sea salt (optional)

Mix the oil and honey together as well as you can, then add the eggs and mix again. Stir in the carrot pulp. Now add the remaining ingredients and mix well ... pour the resulting concoction into a greased loaf pan (measuring approximately 8-1/2" X 4-1/2" X 2-5/8") ... and bake in a pre-heated 350°F oven for 60 to 65 minutes.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

No, that's not my tattoo below.



It's Cj's. He and his mom went out together (I came too) and got tattoos while we were down at his parent's house for vacation.

Things *I* did on my vacation last week:

Played frisbee in Ojai on Easter Sunday with various excellent friends (one of whom did not show up like a complete douchebag even though we never see him and he had 2 weeks notice). Then went and got homemade ice cream before going back home for Easter dinner.

Cleaned out my gradparents storage shed. Ended up with some of my grandma's china and silver, an awesome pendulum clock, and a pencil drawing of my mom when she was 10.

Hung out with various members of the extended family, some of whom I hadn't seen for six or so years.

Hung out a lot with Cj's family, lovely as always.

Went to Disneyland and got silhouette portraits done, pictures will come when I am not insane, whenever that might be. Forgot how "without resolution" end of the Snow White's Adventure ride is.

Went out with both current and future sisters and got bridesmaid dresses. Also bought possibly the shortest skirt I have ever owned. (picstocome)

Worked on the quilt a bit before I remembered everything I had to do.

Hung out on a boat with the parents of the Lovely Miss Allison Whom I Hung Out With Much In High School, and ate a ton of her Mom's scrumptious apple crisp.

Finished my grant application. Oh yeah, I'm doing one of those. Won't know whether or not I get it until July 21st. I'm applying for it in the event that I don't get in to CalArts (see below), as it will allow me to work at a company without them having to pay me out of their own pocket.

Drove back to Ojai to visit with Cj's grandpa.

Drove home, then checked the mail.

Got waitlisted at CalArts.


They'll let me know somewhere around June 1st if a spot opens up. Yyyeeearrrrgh.

SO,

Drove over the hill to drop off my portion of the grant application, then drove back and got a sad, sick little Cj some dinner, nyquil, and orange juice.

Friday, March 21, 2008

Things That Have Happened Today:

I woke up because my mom was on the phone all worried about wedding stuff and I got all freaked out.

I went out to pick up my paycheck and some books that I have to read on the trip to Southern Cali. On the way out I ran over a stick.

While out, I got a phone call from Cj letting me know that it wasn't a stick but was in fact a part of our sprinkler pvc pipe.

Went the hardware store to pick up a part and fix it, because water was running down the driveway.

I shopped/waited in line for half an hour.

On the way home I almost got run off the road because someone else decided to drive down the middle of the freeway for a while before cutting me off to exit.

When I got home the part was the wrong size.

I went back out to the hardware store.

On the way, I tripped on some stairs and fell down. Two guys with goatees laughed at me.

I came home.

Now we're waiting the 2 hours it takes for the epoxy to dry to see if we get to leave. If it doesn't work, we have to fix something else, then wait another two hours to see if THAT worked.

At least I didn't get a rejection letter today.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

One of My Heroes



“I am interested in people’s souls. I care more about their hearts than their money.” - Franco Dragone

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Tristan de Cunha

A friend turned me on to this. It's total madness. Not because of the island itself - but because of the community of 300 people that live there.



Tristan da Cunha (pronounced /ˈtrɪstən də ˈkuːnə/) is a group of remote islands in the south Atlantic Ocean, 2816 km (1750 miles) from South Africa and 3360 km (2088 miles) from South America. It is a dependency of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, 2173 km (1350 miles) to the north. The territory consists of the main island, Tristan da Cunha (area: 98 km², 38 sq mi ), as well as several uninhabited islands: Inaccessible Island and the Nightingale Islands. Gough Island (area: 91 km², 35 sq mi ), situated 395 km (245 mi) south east of the main island, is also considered part of the territory. Tristan da Cunha is the most remote archipelago in the world.

More here.

Monday, March 17, 2008

More MFA News

Didn't get in to Sarah Lawrence.

Saves me the trouble of figuring out whether I'd choose not to go to grad school or to go to a program I wasn't sure about.

Just waiting on Brown (which I know I didn't get into outright) and Cal Arts.

SCARY

Saturday, March 15, 2008

A Non-Mopey Post, For A Change

My little sister flew in for Spring Break last night, so today we went with Cj to get his mohawk reshaped (after all my DIY haircutting, which, while earnest and decent, was not the most skillful). Afterwards we hung around downtown for a few hours, went shopping (I picked out a dress for my upcoming wedding shower, Cj got a steampunk-esque trench coat, my sister got new workout clothes), dropped in to see our friend Frost at his work, ate Cold Stone Creamery ice cream (my favorite is sweet cream with graham cracker crust and raspberries), and then met up with the parents to see In Bruges.



Now I'd heard from friends that this movie was good. What they didn't specify is that it is darkly funny, emotionally layered, and has three of the best leading actor performances I've seen in a while. Also it's well-written and has an unusual ending. So go out right now and find a place where it's playing, because this is one movie that deserves the $10 or more you shell out for a movie ticket these days.

And watch out for the bottle.

(Seriously, go see it and you'll understand)

Thursday, March 13, 2008

MFA Update

Got a rejection notice by email from UCSD. Knew I wasn't going to get in after that interview.

Where I'm at:

Brown (Waiting on Admission Decision)
CalArts (Waiting on Admission Decision)
Sarah Lawrence (Waiting on Admission Decision)


So far I have been rejected from:

Yale
University of Washington
UCSD

[I didn't make the second round of auditions at Brown, so I'm either on the wait-listed or I've been rejected.]

So it's all down to CalArts or Sarah Lawrence. :/

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

New York, New York

Last week I flew to New York for the last of my grad school interviews.

After that first night when I was all mopey and worried the trip was good. I woke up Friday morning early for a day of orientation and sitting in on classes with about 10 other applicants, most of whom (excepting one) were substantially older than me.

There are some major things about this program (which I won't specify here) that I'm not sure about, but the way they organized the day was really great because I got to chat with the other applicants about their process, what they were looking for in a grad program, etc. and I feel like I actually made a few professional allies that I can be in contact with in the future. I saw a play directed by a grad student who had never directed anything before, which was a red flag, although there were some good actors in it. I snuck into a dance concert afterwards to see how the dancers were (they're good). I took a cab back and sat in my hotel room and thought really hard about the program itself.

On Saturday I got up and had my interview, which went really well. It felt more like a casual conversation than any of the others I've had so far, and the panel (yes, there was more than one person this time) was very interested in my aesthetic and goals. I talked to others that had had their interviews before me and it became even more clear how well mine had gone, even though I'm not sure what I'll decide to do if this is the only place I get in. The fact that New York City's right there is great, but honestly I'd really like to go to a school on the West Coast and intern at a professional East Coast company to get my contacts on that side of the country.

After the interview I went out to a lovely upscale italian lunch with two other applicants (Oh, did I mention they were all female?) and we had some really good, in-depth conversations about theater, grad school, and just life in general. One of the girls even offered to wait with me for my cab back to the hotel because she wanted to chat more. We exchanged business cards and called each other when we got back to our respective abodes. The whole day really made me feel like a part of the young professional set, rather than just a random girl bumbling her way around the professional arena.

I was so tired, though, after all the scheduled activities that I didn't make it into the city to see any plays. I had real trouble sleeping the entire time I was over there, partly because of the time change and partly because I was in a big bed by myself for the first time in quite a while. That being the case, I guess it's not totally surprising that on the day Daylight Savings started, when I was supposed to wake up at 7:00 for an 8:20 shuttle pickup, I... didn't.

Or not on time, anyway. I didn't wake up when my alarm went off. I didn't wake up when the front desk called. I didn't wake up when the shuttle company called. I only woke up when the front desk AND my dad called to say that the shuttle was leaving in 5 minutes, with or without me. Luckily I'd packed the night before and just had to rip off my pjs, throw on clothes, and run out the door. I just barely made it.

But I had a nice plane flight back, went out to dinner with Cj and my parents, and have had tons of wedding planning practically non-stop since I got back. Things are exciting here, no matter what happens.

Thursday, March 06, 2008

Jet Set Sux

I got up at 5 am this morning and got on a plan to New York, where I am now. The flight was six hours long and I sat next to this older guy that kept looking at pictures of a young black woman in various sexy poses, normal clad and scantily clad. He also had this girl as his backdrop. And h had a LOT of pictures of her. It was kind of creepy.

Flying over the middle right half of the country all the bodies of water were covered with ice. It was kind of shocking, in a weird way. I don't know why. You'd think I'd never seen a frozen lake before.

I drove through downtown New Rochelle, which is a lot like Downtown Berkeley but not as pretty. I picked up food at an Applebees ten steps from the hotel.

I watched The Interpreter with Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn. Now The Producers (new version) is on.

I miss my little family.

Saturday, March 01, 2008

Bizarro Gina

I just tasted 4 different bottles of champagne, am in a weird mood, and am calling my wedding:

The Scottish-Italian-Victorian Extravaganza.

I also just laughed for about 10 minutes at a picture of Mr. Winkle.