Dear readers,

In a few days time I will be graduating from university.  I will be turning another page in my book, concluding a chapter, and drafting a new one.  It was appropriate then, that I ended up watching the third Harry Potter film today.  Unintentional as our choice was, Harry Potter and Prisoner of Azkaban, of course, is all about time.  Old generations mingle with the new generation to face both the past and the uncertainties of the future.  And isn’t that where I am?  Standing at a precipice in which I can celebrate with the old but now prepare to brave a new world?

Soon to be Miami alumni

Watching the film, I couldn’t help but think ahead to a time when I have children.  Harry Potter is the defining literary and cinematic work of my generation’s coming of age.  How will my children interact with this series when they are growing up?  Will it be the same?  J.K. Rowling taught us many things through these well-loved characters and enthralling world of magic.  In Prisoner of Azkaban (PoA), there is a moment towards the end of the book that reads as follows, “‘What we need,’ said Dumbledore slowly, and his light blue eyes moved from Harry to Hermione, ‘is more time.’”  (Don’t we all?)

The theme of time is demonstrated in many ways throughout the novel/film.  In the book, the diction carefully draws attention to time through choice words, such as how Dumbledore slowly speaks to Harry and Hermione.  Hermione herself comes to represent the struggle against time in her attempt to do more than is possible in a day.  We see how fighting time is futile and doing so only makes one grow haggard – exhausted mentally and physically, appearing to look older.

They even sneaked this guy into the film! See what he’s reading?

Sirius Black spent 12 years in prison as an innocent man, and his character, while acutely aware of this, forces us to confront the issue of time that we will never get back.  Harry’s father’s friends give us a lesson in the benefits of getting answers from the past, while at the same time serve as a warning not to get stuck living in the past.

Then there is timing – a different sort of theme on time.  The notion of waiting for the right moment to act, of patience and awareness of time is brought out in various instances throughout the book.  Most obvious in the film is the time-travel adventure Harry and Hermione go on.  They can’t save Buckbeak until the Prime Minister has seen him, giving them a 60 second window of opportunity.  Getting Sirius out of the castle and racing back to the Hospital Wing must all be done with very precise timing at the opportune moments.

The themes of the past and present are there, but so is that of the future.  For all of her bumbling, Professor Trewlaney actually has a very difficult job and shows us that predicting the future is a very complicated business.  Dumbledore brings this to Harry’s attention when he says, “The consequences of our actions are always so complicated, so diverse, that predicting the future is a very difficult business indeed.”

Sitting there watching the film, all of these representations on the theme of time got me thinking about our own time.  The only certainty in our lives is that all things must come to an end (circle of life, etc. etc.).  Fighting against time, trying to recreate the past or dream too far into the future is counterproductive to living a full life in the present.  We strive to do our best, but if we take off more than we can chew we will only be harming ourselves by trying to force more hours into the day than exist.  As with everything else in life, time requires a delicate balance.

Sometimes I feel that if I only had had more time, I could have done so much more.  Especially as I am about to close the door on my college life and separate geographically from friends who have become so close and dear to me.  But instead of living in the past, PoA has reinforced the idea that the true take away from that line of thinking is to treasure time because it is something precious.  Right now I’m searching for a job, and despite all of the uncertainties it’s all about timing.  Finding the right thing at the right moment, and being there when those elements come together.

I am a legacy at Miami University, my parents and grandparents went to this school when they were my age.  I will always enjoy the camaraderie this has inspired, and hearing about the ways in which Oxford was different back then and yet remains similar in so many other ways today.  Perhaps one of my own children will decide to go to Miami University, and who knows what changes time will have brought to the campus by then?  (If only I had the ability to leave them something as cool as a Marauders Map as my own legacy!)

The Sundial.

Yes, time is certainly an interesting concept and one that has always been a point of fascination for humans.  So as my legs carry me up that stretch of lawn to get my diploma and away from the campus and people I have come to know so well in the past four years, I will strive to make the most of my time with a promise to live in the present.  That, I believe, is the best we thing we can do.

Thanks for reading, cheers!  Until then…

Mischief managed

Dear readers,

A few weeks ago my housemate had her senior recital – a performance for friends and family to see all of the work she’s put into her music and performance for the past four years.  What started as a joking conversation about what her cake should say became a reality when I piped up with a, “Yeah, I’ll do it!”  And thus, the opportunity for me to bake my first ever cake was born.

Some say the cake is a lie. I’m here to assure you, it can most definitely be real.

Now I was given one suggestion (not a chocolate base) but otherwise had free reign to create this celebratory cake.  And so, I set to work.  I was entertaining a few possibilities and scoured the Internet for ideas either lemon cakes, strawberry cakes, or some other type of white cake.

There were some great looking cakes coming up in my search, I even came across a cookie dough cake – yes, that is apparently a real thing!  Despite these recipes as well as two my mom was kind enough to send over, my brain (or taste buds, I suppose) was being very insistent that this cake needed to incorporate chocolate in some way or form in addition to being fruity.

Surprisingly, I could find no recipes that met my specified criteria and preset image for both chocolate and strawberry in a cake.  At this point I was going to the store to get any ingredients I would need and a decision had to be made.  And so it was that this cake became an original “Brooke creation”, with a little help and inspiration from a few other recipe sources.

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cake:

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cake (Now just add whatever sort of celebratory sentiment you prefer!)

For the Cake:

- 1 cup butter, softened

- 2 cups granulated sugar

- 3 eggs

- 2 tsp vanilla

- 2 tbsp strawberry jam

- 3 1/4 cup flour

- 3 1/4 tsp baking powder

- 3/4 tsp salt

- 1 1/2 tsp lemon zest

- 1 1/2 cups milk

- 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Beat butter and sugar together until fluffy.  Add eggs individually beating after each one.  Mix in vanilla and jam.

Let’s start with the batter. You can really be pretty flexible with the amount of jam you add for more or less strawberry flavor, or you don’t have to add any and just go with a basic yellow cake!

Who doesn’t like fresh lemon zest?

In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt.  Add to mixture in small amounts, and beat together with lemon zest and milk.  Add mini chocolate chips and mix by hand.  Pour batter into two separate cake tins.

Mix the milk and dry ingredients into the batter in increments

Stir in the mini chocolate chips

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes

Cake? Done. Easy. Not a lie.

Cut the top off of the bottom cake layer to may things more level and stable. Bonus, you get to taste test the cake!

For the Fruit:

- Quarter to a third of a carton of strawberries (depending on size of the strawberries)

- 1 carton of blackberries

- 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar

- 1 tsp vanilla

- 1 tsp lemon juice

- 1 tsp lemon zest

You have to love aroma and color of fresh strawberries

Quarter the strawberries and add to a bowl with a carton of blackberries.  Add sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest to the fruit and toss gently to coat.

The lemon juice will help keep the berries fresh and the sugar cuts the tartness just enough

For the Whipped cream filling (middle layer):

- 1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

- 1 tsp vanilla

- 3 tbsp sugar

- 2-3 tbsp strawberry jam

- Chocolate Chips (a handful or two, depends on how chocolaty you want your middle filling to be – you could skip the chocolate as well and just do a strawberry or plain vanilla whipped cream for the middle)

Woo, homemade whipped cream! Be patient as you whip it, it takes around 5-6 minutes to get it to the right consistency.

On high setting, whip the heavy whipping cream, vanilla, and sugar together until thick and fluffy (about 5 minutes).

Keep the chocolate and jam on the heat just enough to melt the chocolate chips and stir constantly. Make sure the mix cools enough before adding it to the whipped cream.

In a small saucepan, melt jam and chocolate chips (30 seconds or less on burner), stirring constantly.  Cool immediately by placing sauce pan in larger pan full of cold water, continue to stir.  When the mixture is cooler but still liquid, go ahead and fold gently into the whipped cream.

This was the most iffy part (for fear of melting), but the chocolate-strawberry whipped cream turned out beautifully!

Now that the chocolate strawberry whipped cream is ready, go ahead and begin to assemble the cake.

Anyone else seeing a Mickey Mouse here?

Put down a layer of the whipped cream, followed by the strawberry/blackberry mixture.

Top with the remaining whipped cream (or use your judgement)

My efforts began to take shape…

For the Frosting:

- 1/2 cup butter

- 4 1/2 cup powdered sugar

- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla

- remaining strawberries, chopped very finely

- 1 tsp lemon zest

- 5-6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice*

In a bowl, use an electric mixer and beat the butter until fluffy.  Add the powdered sugar and lemon juice in increments, mixing well each time.  Stir in the vanilla, strawberries, and lemon zest.

*I had added this amount of milk from a basic buttercream frosting I was following and then decided it needed a bit of tartness.  Adding a couple tablespoons of lemon juice ruined the consistency (I also didn’t mix the butter long enough in the beginning, I’ve since decided) and next so instead I would just add this amount of lemon juice and skip the milk.

Some slight issues with the frosting consistency.

At any rate, I attempted to salvage the consistency by whipping the remaining whipping cream (about 1 cup was left) and folding the whipped cream into the frosting.

Play around with this, you may have better form when it comes to getting the right consistency of frosting than me and so might just want to add that to the cake without the whipped cream.  Or you may have it right and want to try it with the folded in whipped cream as well, which does make the frosting much lighter taking off some of the heaviness of the dense cake.

The attempt to salvage it!

All in all, I was able to bring my cake creation to life, runny frosting and everything.  Chocolate chips were used to decorate the top of the cake and write the previously joked about phrase which had been deemed not quite appropriate for everyone in the audience at the recital…(I’ll give you a clue: think “Oh yeah!” or “Ahhh yeah!”, but even more exclamatory .  Got it?  Good!  If not, don’t worry about it.)

It was a momentous moment. My first ever cake!

As celebrations commenced that evening after her recital, the cake was taken out of the fridge (oh right - refrigerate this cake when it is not being consumed!) and the aforementioned final touch was put on.  It was perfect that it happened to be a friend attending’s birthday as well!

Then, accompanied by “ooo’s” and “ahhh’s”, it was devoured.  I take pride in telling you that it was met with high approval and satisfaction; it even received a “this is seriously the best cake I’ve ever had” from our birthday guest!

Mmm

Having put quite a few hours into making this cake, I was really satisfied with how it turned out.  (A chunk of those hours was admittedly spent listening to “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)”…all I can say is that I was in my element, creating something new, so I was in a giddy mood)  From those of us that enjoyed the cake, it was agreed that the flavors all mixed together very well.

The berries offset the sweetness, the chocolate incorporated in the mini chocolate chips and the whipped cream in the middle was complementary and not overwhelming, the frosting had a clear strawberry flavor and was a lovely shade of pink (incidentally my housemate’s favorite color – I can be a bit clever sometimes).

Well, readers, that’s it for today.  I think I’m safe in saying that my first foray into making a cake was a success.  A splendid success.  I will definitely be hanging on to my mix and match created recipe for a strawberry chocolate chip cake.

Now then.  If you have some sort of celebration coming up, or need a cake that will satisfy your resident chocolate lovers and vanilla/fruit junkies, or maybe are just in the mood for a cake that is both filling but lighter in taste, give this strawberry chocolate chip cake a try.  I promise that you will not be disappointed!

Thanks for reading, cheers!  Until then…

Mischief managed

I can say that this strawberry chocolate chip cake is definitely a cake for a party (you will want some help with the nomming!)

Dear readers,

It’s been a far too long hiatus these past couple weeks since my last post.  Life has been a bit crazy.  Supporting friends during their senior recitals, hosting a family friend and then my cousin who are both looking at attending Miami next year (hope they do!),  housemate birthdays, career service events, picking up robes and other graduation stuff, you name it!  Add to that the hectic state of my brain constantly jumping between papers, group projects, and potential jobs.  Hence the sad lack of anything new.  Well I am here to put that stop to this stoppage tonight!  It’ll be a short post as I am dead tired, but I wanted to do something to commemorate Earth Day.

Earth Day got me perusing some past photos for a Facebook post of a similar nature earlier this evening.  Celebrating the Earth is something immensely important.  It is a shame that most people, myself included, don’t do it on a daily basis.

I’ve come to find that even the smallest seed can foster growth of the most exquisite things.

Rose garden in Fitzgerald Park, Cork, Ireland

The most normal things become far more extraordinary and special than anything our imaginations could dream up when we take the time to really look.

Resident lubber grasshopper in the Everglades in Florida

Take a close look while you can.  For you will never see the exact same thing twice.

Fields and sky as far as the eye can see driving through southwest England

Do not fear this constant shift of environment, for everything has a time and place.

Edinburgh Royal Botanic Gardens

Instead, appreciate the beauty of life’s adaptability.

Driving through the southwest United States you are sure to see the saguaro cactus

Take inspiration from the land

Olive tree fields in Tuscany, Italy

…and the sea.

Sea turtles in Hawaii

Respect the entire world we inhabit.

A sea creature called a “flamingo tongue”, interestingly enough!

Because we can’t forget that we share this world.  That others need the space, too.

Mother and son. I’ve been lucky enough to see these pandas at the San Diego Zoo multiple times in my life.

Above all, don’t forget to explore.  Travel the world, for it’s a place filled with wonder.

The Scottish Highlands

And when you come back home, you’ll have a little more love in your heart and you just might see spectacles right in your backyard you never noticed previously.

The San Diego Bay Bridge, overlooking Coronado and Point Loma

Looking back at the places I have been and the incredible sights I’ve seen, I am so unbelievably lucky.  I have had the opportunity to see and do so much already in my life, and I only hope that I can continue to broaden my horizons.

Well, readers, I hope you’ve enjoyed my tribute to Mother Nature as much as I have enjoyed sharing these photos from a few of the places I’ve visited.  If this post boils down to anything, it’s the age old adage to stop and smell the roses.  Our world has so much to offer if we only look around and join in.  Happy Earth Day!

Next post?  A venture into new territory for me – cake!  Thanks for reading, cheers!  Until then…

Mischief managed

Dear readers,

The world can be an overwhelming place for one person, can’t it?  Most of the time we have the strength and confidence to meet the challenges of life head on, but there are some days or weeks when you just feel a little off.  In fact, one set of lines which comes to mind to put some of this feeling into words comes from a Weepies song:

“I let the day go by.

I always say goodbye.

I watch the stars from my windowsill -

The whole world is moving…but I’m standing still.”

Right there.  Brilliant.  Music is rather amazing that way.  Even in our loneliest moments a song can reach out to us, letting us know that someone else has been there with us.

At any rate, it just so happens that I’m recently regaining my footing from one such week.  Insecurities about the future, some frustrating problems in a group project, sad news, and horrible weather added to the mix all contributed to getting me down.  But!  Despite this zap on my energy, I had a couple of things to pull me up from this slump.

Have you ever heard the phrase, “follow your bliss?”  It is a philosophy that my high school English class often touched on junior and senior year, and these past couple of weeks have been reminding me of the importance of this phrase.  When you do find yourself in a slump, the best thing you can do is seek out the things that make you happy and content.  It doesn’t matter what it is, big or little, you just have to figure out what it is and pursue it.

My ‘saving graces’, as it were, came from a few different areas.  It just so happened that there was a writing festival last week which spanned three evenings and featured some very cool and diverse writers.  I forced myself to shuck the warm blankets and rise from my nest on the couch to go check out the first events of the Oxford Writing Festival.  Two hours and many laughs later (the event was kicked off with a show from the student improv group, followed by the fantastic group StarKid – writers/actors behind “A Very Potter Musical”, etc.), I was incredibly glad I had gone.

StarKid!

The following two days didn’t disappoint, either.  Travel and adventure writer Charles Scott gave a great talk about, well essentially, following your bliss.  Then I listened to the inspiring journey of journalist, column writer, and NPR contributor Kathy Wilson.  The final day saw me sitting down to learn about the ins and outs of writing for video games as opposed to fiction from Richard Dansky – he even made a point using Sherlock, Benedict Cumberbatch, and the otter (no time to explain, but a high five to you if you understand how this was infinitely awesome)!  Afterwards, I was introduced to the ‘what if’ writing process from young adult fiction writer Jennifer Bradbury.  For the most part, all of the writers who participated in the festival are writers who aren’t classically trained to write for a profession.  This was all the more encouraging and spirit lifting for this aspiring, so very green, young writer.

The Oxford Writing Festival was number one, then.  The second saving grace fell on the final day of the Writing Festival as well.  In Oxford, there is a place called ‘You’re Fired’.  It’s one of those pick something out, paint it, they fire it and you pick it up in a week places – and I love it!  Any one of my housemates, if asked, could impress upon you the incredible amount of time with which I can spend at this place.

This is the plate that started it all and was made for my dad (he will be right there with me doing the crazy stuff!)

Painting is something I’ve always enjoyed doing, but find little time to pursue.  When I go to pick something out at ‘You’re Fired’, I make it count.  Case in point?  I began a project to create a set of plates (each ocean themed with a tailored saying and one for each member of my family) at the end of my freshman year.  Today, I picked up the finished product of the final plate of the set – hooray!

The next was for my mom, who always knows how to cheer me up

Anyway, this place also has a wonderful atmosphere to it.  Though a small place, you will be surrounded by a variety of people ranging from young children (possible a birthday party) to, quite literally, old friends there to catch up and try something new.  Usually a tailored music playlist or station is on that sets the mood perfectly.  It’s relaxing and soothing, and you might just hear some people singing along softly as they focus intently on a steady hand, and bringing an idea to life.

My brother’s plate (he has the best stories from his adventures)

In a way, it’s also very intimate.  People might see what you’re painting and stop to compliment you on it or ask you about it.  Seeing all of the creative pieces as you move around the tight space is very cool.  And while I had my Sherlock nod with one of the writer’s talks, I ended up engaging in a brief Doctor Who geek out with one of the workers and another woman inside who was painting a TARDIS themed olive oil jar!

For my sister, who can do anything she sets her mind to!

I’ve found that painting something at You’re Fired is a breath of fresh air for me.  I don’t have to focus on anything except what is right in front of me, and that in itself is rejuvenating!  Now then, I’ve had the Writing Festival and painting at You’re Fired.  What’s next?

And finally, my own plate!

Food of course!  Specifically, chocolate .  We all know it’s a proven fact that chocolate can boost your mood, so what better way to get yourself out of a funk?  We had some friends over Friday night, so I decided to whip out that box of brownie mix I always keep on hand.  This time, though, I wanted to make them a little more special (no, not in that way).  The idea came from this awesome brownie I’d had from Outsider Tart in England called the ‘Hepburn Brownie’.  Here’s what you’ll need:

- 1 box Ghirardelli double chocolate brownie mix

- 1 egg

- 1/4 cup water

- 1/3 cup vegetable oil

- Ghirardelli semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips

- 3/4 tsp cinnamon

- 1/2 to 1 tsp vanilla

Yup, cinnamon is that extra, special ingredient here, and what a difference it makes!  Just follow the instructions on the box and mix the first four ingredients together.  My family always adds some extra chocolate chips, and we just sort of eyeball it.  Throw a handful or two of chocolate chips in the batter and mix in until the ratio feels right.

The good stuff

Add the cinnamon in – without a recipe, I just kind of guessed how much and ended up with a little less than 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, which was perfect!  I also just decided to add between 1/2 and 1 teaspoon of vanilla on the fly , so mixed that in too.

Do be mindful not to over mix the batter, however, as that will make the brownies tough.  When in doubt, some gentle folding will do the trick.  Pour the batter into an 8×8 or similar sized pan (spray with pam first!) and pop that in the oven for about 40 minutes.  Let cool.  Dig in.

I will most definitely be making these again, and soon!

While I don’t have the actual Hepburn Brownie recipe (yet), I felt I could cheat and save some time with the brownie mix (and it was Ghirardelli!).  The basic principle of the cinnamon and chocolate together is spot on, though, regardless of how you get there.  So if you need a pick me up from a long week and have neither the time nor energy to invest in a spectacular dessert, simply adding a little extra to this brownie mix will do the trick just as well.  (The pan doesn’t lie, those brownies were a hit and boy have they gone fast!)

So if you are anything like me, just remember to take some time to do things that you really enjoy doing.  You may find an event going on that piques your interest and even though you leave your comfort zone to try something new, you may be surprised when you get there!  Going to the writing festival allowed me to really reconnect with a friend from freshman year and meet these fantastic authors.  I took some solitary and very peaceful time to let myself focus solely on creative energy at You’re Fired and made a connection through a shared interest in a television show.  I made a great discovery on turning ordinary brownies into spectacular chocolate/cinnamon-y goodness for that little something extra to indulge in and share with friends, and I ended up winning my first round of Euchre!

Remember those lessons from your high school English class, for they may just come in handy.  Despite all the stress and little frustrations that can come together to make the world seem insurmountable at times, at the end of the day you just have to follow your bliss.  Start with small things (could be sitting down to write a blog post) and lead up to the big things.  Follow your bliss and you will take the world into your own hands.  So what is it that makes you happy?

Well, readers, another day another post.  I hope you are having as rejuvenating a weekend as I am, and a Happy Easter to those of you celebrating!  Thanks for reading, cheers!  Until then…

Mischief managed

So about that song I mentioned way back at the beginning?  Here it is for you, kind of the theme for the week.  While not the official music video, this animation done to the song is thought provoking and simply stunning in its beauty and fluidity.  Enjoy:

Dear readers,

Jobs.  More accurately, the job search.  It’s a high stress activity with a low return on energy investment.  Am I right?  Aside from schoolwork, the job search is the most pressing issue on my plate at the moment.  I’m sure that those of you in the same position as me (young or old) will understand the frustration and time consumption that is the process of finding the right positions and getting off a good application.  The process can seem strenuous enough at times to drive one to distraction – and that is where this post is going.

Now, inevitably, I spend an hour finding jobs to apply to (I’ve never had so many tabs open on a browser at once!) and then sort of drift off on the internet…the downfall of our generation.  (This happens often in the middle of homework assignments and readings that fail to capture my interest).  The funny thing is, though, I can actually learn a lot on these escapades of non-work!  I often find myself looking into random things for a period of time before moving on to another topic.  Normally, it’s something to do with a fandom, show/topic/event I’m curious about, or something I’d like to do in the future (example: learn how to kite surf).  Well, lately my go to topic of procrastination revolves around astrology.

One thing I find appealing about astrology is the imaginative quality about it. There are so many ways to interpret the signs and the mythology, it can inspire creative endeavors of all genres!

Yes.  Astrology.  I admit…I’m a bit of a space enthusiast to begin with.  I love staring up at the stars, dreaming and philosophizing, love thinking about the etymologies of the planets and constellations, and the mythology that goes with that.  But astrology isn’t astronomy or Greek mythology, I know.  However astrology doesn’t necessarily mean all the ‘read your future’ mumbo jumbo, either, and the practice has been around for ages.  While I’m not into the whole ‘predict future events or moods’ astrology business, I do think that astrology is an interesting way to gain a better understanding of yourself and can be used as a psychology/personality informer.  In my recent research, I was astounded by looking into my personal astrology charts and finding myself very much reflected in the results I got.

Here’s a rundown of how basic (and I mean basic – I’m no expert here) astrology works.  Everyone has one of 12 zodiac signs based on the date they were born; I’m sure you are all familiar with these and this is where I started.  Take a look at your sign’s personality traits and take this as a diving board to jump off from into your actual astrology birth chart.  Using myself as an example, I am a Gemini – the Twins.  I bounced around looking at various website’s descriptions of a Gemini, just to see what the basic commonalities are.  Turns out that there weren’t many differences between sites and the info is pretty universal on this point, yet it is interesting to see the information laid out in different ways on occasion.  Go look up your sign – a quick Google search will do!  Here’s one such website description of the Gemini: http://www.astrology.com/gemini-sun-sign-zodiac-signs/2-d-d-66941

Each sign has specific attributes: an element, a ruler, a quality, Houses, and a rising/sun/moon sign (related to the House system).  The four possible elements are fire, air, water, and earth (learn about their traits here: http://www.astro.com/astrology/in_elements_e.htm).

Every House (read, ‘planet’) has a ruler which corresponds with the Greek/Roman God of that planet and zodiac sign (Mercury is House of Gemini and the Roman equivalent of the Greek God Hermes.  Hermes is the messenger to the Gods of Olympus, corresponding with that House’s trait of Communication).  Each horoscope sign is also associated with a quality, meaning your sign is either Cardinal, Fixed, or Mutable .  Essentially, a Cardinal sign is one that will take more initiative and leadership, a Fixed sign is resistant to change and willful, and a Mutable sign is all about adaptability and understanding.  All of these correspond with general personality traits for these groupings of horoscope signs.

The House system refers to the traits that each planet is given, and this is where you can see the many possible variations of personality and unique qualities we have begin to come up.  You have a sign in every house/planet (and not just your sun sign!).  The three biggest House signs refer to the Sun, Moon, and Ascendant signs.  The sun sign is determined by the month and day you are born and forms the traits that make up our basic personality – the essential traits of self that are enacted when others aren’t necessarily around us.  The Moon sign details our more private and instinctual self, dealing with our emotional traits and responses.

What is your astrological element?

Finally, the Ascendant or Rising sign refers to our personality traits that make up our natural response to the world around us.  If you’ve ever felt at odds with how a friend or acquaintance might describe you, this is probably because they are describing the traits of your Rising sign only.  This is why the Rising sign is sometimes said to be your ‘mask’ in public.  Our mannerisms, image, and ‘autopilot’ reactions to our environment give off this first impression to others.  The Rising sign is determined by the exact timing of your birth.

Interesting tidbit about these three signs: The Ascendant sign in some cases is thought to become weaker over time due to our process of maturing and becoming more comfortable in our true self, the Sun sign.  The two signs will blend together to form an outer layer for other’s to perceive us, while the Moon and Sun signs blend to create an inner, more personal layer.

The other signs, or Houses, also have specific meanings.  The first House is Aries and is the house of Self.  The second House is Taurus and corresponds with Value and Wealth.  The third House is Gemini and is the House of Communication.  And so on (here’s a good chart of the Houses and their qualities: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_(astrology)#The_twelve_houses AND another: http://www.astro.com/astrology/in_planets1_e.htm).  In order for them to really mean anything, you must apply them with the other pieces of your astrological and zodiac sign.  The way I understand it is that you use it by calculating what your sign is in that house.  So although you may be a Pisces based on your Sun sign, your Mercury sign could be in Leo and you would exhibit more outgoing traits in the part of your personality dealing with communication.

A visual representation of an astrological birth chart

Ok, this will probably make more sense looking at an example, so here’s a one website’s basic astrology chart of my own horoscope: http://www.alabe.com/cgi-bin/chart/astrobot.cgi?INPUT1=&INPUT2=&MONTH=06&DAY=18&YEAR=1991&HOUR=5&MINUTE=30&AMPM=AM&TOWN=San+Diego&COUNTRY=USA&STATE=CA&INPUT9=&Submit=Submit

I put in a little guess work with the exact time I was born (pretty sure it was in the morning) and left out my name as I felt it unnecessary, and out came that chart!  As you can see, I was born in June and my Sun sign is a Gemini.  My Ascendant/Rising and Mercury signs are both in Gemini as well, describing some of my basic and my outward personality traits.  However, I also have Houses ruled by other signs that make me unique as a person (and not just a generic Gemini).  My Moon sign is ruled by Virgo, while my Venus, Mars,  and Jupiter signs (dealing with relationships, self, and life philosophy respectively) are ruled by Leo.  This chart is useful in the information it gives, but you can also supplement it by looking up other basic information about what it means to have a specific sign in a specific House.  Here’s a good example site for that:

Sun, Mercury, and Ascendant in Gemini? Boom, read the parts that pertain to you - http://www.cafeastrology.com/zodiacgemini.html

However, the Moon is in Virgo for me.  So I go to the Virgo page and read the Moon bit - http://www.cafeastrology.com/zodiacvirgo.html

Again, this is just good supplemental information for those curious about learning more!

All in all, I felt that these results did pertain to my own personality fairly well.  Aspects of my personality were reflected, both the positive and negative traits.  Although some may not have jumped out at me in an, “oh, yup, that’s me!” kind of way, it did open a discussion within myself to analyze aspects of my personality which don’t necessarily present themselves in everyday situations.  The basic Gemini traits without taking into account the other House intricacies made a lot of sense.

Right off the bat the active mind and tendency to get bored and dabble in many areas of interest explained why I had arrived at these sites about astrology at all!  Indecisiveness?  Check!  You may recall from previous posts (especially the Louvre post) that I had always been a fan of Hermes, though wasn’t sure why.  Lo and behold, Hermes is intricately connected with my sign as a Gemini.  The same could be said for my passion for writing, traveling, and storytelling.  I mean really, this astrology stuff was kind of explaining a lot…

Look into your sign’s story, too, as there is a lot of historical references and mythology that are bound with them. The Gemini has references with Castor and Pollux, Hermes, Romulus and Remus, Apollo and Artemis, the Norse God of Mischief Loki, and a few others even.

Some basic horoscope descriptions will include gemstones, colors, seasons (that’s kind of a given, really), gender (with corresponding introvert/extrovert-ness), and the like as associations with a specific House/sign.  Even those tended to be a bit scarily spot on.  Most of these that include color say that the Gemini’s color is either a lemony color, orange, or yellow.  Wouldn’t you know it, my favorite color is a bolder shade of yellow (think marigold).  I have to admit that I felt a little bit like the Gemini poster child after spending time researching this stuff.

Really though, the full chart was what I think counts the most and gets more at who we on a deeper level.  If you are interested in the topic, you may want to look into the corresponding zodiacs and astrology practices of other cultures (what I’ve described is the Western astrology system).  There is also a Chinese, Indian, Native American, etc. form of the practice that gives different spins and perspectives on each sign.

There is even a Geek Zodiac – a spin off zodiac based upon the Chinese cycle, but using literary archetypes!

I do think it would be interesting and more accurate to explore astrology further in terms of nature vs. nurture.  By that I mean what affect does the sign of your parents or siblings have on your own personality and development?  The place where you grow up and live in probably affects this as well.  Astrological charts create a good jumping off point for reflection of your personality, just remember that more factors than the stars go into your development as a unique human being.

In correspondence with my surprise about the accuracy of my astrology chart was my previous knowledge about my personality from Carl Jung’s Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator.  Freshman year I had a class in which we all took the MBTI personality test and I was fascinated by the whole system and learning about each type’s relationships with the world and with other types, etc.  Well, my horoscope is pretty on par with my personality type according to the MBTI (INFP, verging on ENFP).  I won’t delve into that now, as this post is already exceedingly long.  However, if you are interested in personality types and exploring your own personality more, I would encourage you to both create your own astrology chart (at the bottom of my own chart you can click the “HERE” to submit your own) and take the MBTI test.

Self discovery – woo!

And so, for the time being I’ll take what advice I can from the stars and apply that to focusing on getting done what I need to get done (ahem, get a job).  This concludes your comprehensive guide to basic astrology.  Hopefully you aren’t rolling your eyes at this post, but whether for better or worse, I have come to find this stuff both fun and informative in some ways!  And really, who doesn’t like learning/thinking a bit about yourself sometimes –  it’s enthralling!

As always folks, thanks for reading (especially such a long post!), cheers!  Until then…

Mischief managed

Though never completely! (Couldn’t miss an opportunity to put the Gemini related Loki God of Mischief image in…)

Dear readers,

As I write I am on my way to Florida.  Yes, my friends and I are doing our own version of the cliché college Spring Break.  After all, what’s a true friendship without a few long car ride experiences?  As seniors, we wanted to do something together, one last hurrah, if you will.  What is really crazy to think about was that this time last year I was planning a three week trip around Europe!

Thursday we partook in another collegiate tradition before getting ready to leave Friday morning.  This, my friends, is the ‘holiday’ called Green Beer Day at MiamiUniversity.  Green Beer Day (GBD) is a tradition dating back to 1952 (The year my grandpa was a freshman at Miami!).  The story behind GBD is that Miami’s Spring Break used to fall over St. Patrick’s day, and the students (and bar owners) didn’t exactly agree with this.  To solve this problem, the bars uptown would open at 5:30 in the morning on the Thursday morning before Spring Break.  At the time all students could drink, but today you will mostly find seniors and grad students on the bar scene in the mornings.  And yes, the beer sold at the bars is green!

People go all out. GBD shirts, green beads, glow stick necklaces (we rocked those), etc.

My own experience was a small, but good one.  I am not a big drinker at the best of times, but felt I had to experience such a time honored tradition!  So housemate E and I got up at 5:45 am, and she made some awesome banana chocolate chip pancakes for us and three of her friends that joined us.  Around 7 we made our way to a bar uptown and each had a green beer.  The three blocks of Miami’s uptown area was packed and full of people dressed in green.  It was fun and worth going, even if I did only make it through about half of my beer (still, I was very proud of my green tongue).

The rest of the day after class was spent packing and getting set for our trip.  Four of us left early Friday morning, heading to Knoxville, Tennessee first.  We spent a few hours adventuring around the World’s Fair Park and the river while housemate E had a music lesson with the instructor from the University of Tennessee (one of the graduate schools she auditioned at).  Then we were on our way to Clemson University in South Carolina, to spend two nights with my sister.

Probably the most recognized building on campus, Tillman Tower.

It was perfect that Clemson ends up being almost exactly half way to St Petersburg, Florida.  Getting to spend some time with my sister was such a treat.  I’d been to Clemson once the year before for the weekend, so it was good to see the campus again and experience authentic Southern food!  My sister took us to a great, collegiate breakfast sandwich place called The Pot Belly Deli, and we stopped at to get some amazing barbecue and banana pudding from The Smoking Pig.

Sunday morning we turned back the clock and got up an hour earlier to start our final leg of the trip to Tierra Verde.  We had the music, the open road, and some beautiful weather to spur us on.  We were making great time.  And then we hit Clearwater.

The driving down crew!

Clearwater is where one of the four of us would be staying, and it was definitely a designated Spring Break hot spot.  It took us a little less than two hours to get over the bridge and three blocks down to the condo her group was staying at, and back over the bridge.  But we made the most of our sitting in traffic!

We made it to Florida. And this is the back of the house we are staying at!

Finally, almost twelve hours after leaving Clemson, we made it to Tierra Verde.  Our hosts are housemate K’s good family friends, and they are just the picture of Southern hospitality.  Their house is simply amazing – elegant inside and out.  Housemate K was already there, had flown in from DC, and the four of us were rushed off with refreshments and veggies to take a quick boat ride to catch the sunset.

We made it

So it’s been a few days since I began writing this post in the car, but I’ll end it here.  More on our great trip to come!  Unfortunately I have been fighting some kind of cold, but today I am feeling so much better.  I think I’ll go step outside and enjoy the sunshine for the time being (it’s such a treat to have consecutive days of sun!).  Thanks for reading, cheers!  Until then…

Mischief managed

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Dear readers,

I have to say that it has been a busy two weeks with classes and life in general.  I was hoping to get a post up earlier, however it just wasn’t to be.  But!  To make up for it, I have a post of royal proportions for you!  So settle yourselves in – maybe prepare a nice cup of tea or grab a warm blanket – and get ready for a couple of tales about the Tower of London…

First, as a Sherlock fan, this scene continues to run through my head as I write this (I’m sure any fellow Sherlockians out there know exactly where this is going).  So I share with you a clip of a criminal mastermind running (dancing?) loose in the Tower of London, just to set the mood.

Standing tall and unmoving near the banks of the Thames on Tower Hill in London, is the infamous structure known as ‘Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress’, or more commonly, the Tower of London.  ”The Tower” is nicknamed after the White Tower, which serves as the keep of the structure where the King or equivalent representative would stay.  White Tower is located in the very center of the fortress.  The castle’s history begins with the Norman King, William the I (Conqueror).  After defeating the English King, Harold II, in the Battle of Hastings during the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, William had the Tower constructed to keep his hold of control on London.

Waterloo Block

Today the Tower stirs up ideas of torture, prisoners, and gruesome deaths.  Yet the Tower was used primarily as a royal residence in the first couple centuries after its construction.  This lasted up until about the 15th century.  During the 16th and 17th centuries the Tudors came to power and began the tradition of using the Tower first and foremost as a prison.

Figures such as William Wallace, Anne Boleyn, Lady Jane Grey, Elizabeth I, even William Penn have been held in the Tower!  However, in the history of the Tower of London, only seven people have been executed (officially) within the Tower.  Tower Hill itself has been the site for 112 executions – which sounds like a lot, but these have occurred over a 400 year period of time.

Edward I had Traitor’s Gate built for a water entrance for Royal accommodation. Later, prisoners would be brought in on barge giving the gate its name.

Now I say ‘officially’ in that previous statement in reference to one of the more famous and tragic mysteries the Tower of London has to offer; “The Princes in the Tower”.  In 1483, King Edward IV passed away leaving behind his wife and two sons.  Twelve year old Edward V and nine year old Richard were sent to the Tower as Edward awaited coronation.

In the meantime, their uncle Richard III was busy passing a law in Parliament decreeing both sons to be illegitimate, effectively making Richard III the new King of England.  Edward V and his younger brother Richard were never seen again after their move to the Tower.  General speculation is that the children were murdered upon the orders of Richard III, who never denied speculations of this nature.

The Scaffold Site Memorial commemorating those beheaded in the Tower who now rest within the Chapel (this includes the three Black Watch Soldiers). Commissioned by Queen Victoria

Aside from mysteries, prisoners, and royal successions, the Tower of London has also been used for other purposes.  It once held over 200 animals as part of the Royal Menagerie.

Artwork representing but a few of the species once held here can be found around the castle as a reminder of the Menagerie

The Royal Mint was located in the Tower, as well as the treasury.  Today the largest attraction at the Tower is the exhibit of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.  The armory and a museum dedicated to the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers can also be explored at the Tower.  Of course, if you do find yourself at the Tower of London (hopefully of your own will!) you should keep an eye out for ravens.

Aha, found one! And then a brilliant idea struck…

Legend has it that 6 ravens must always reside within the Tower of London, as they protect the crown.  Should the ravens be lost or fly away, Crown and country will fall.  Seven ravens are kept in captivity in the Tower, one as a reserve, just in case.  These birds are treated extremely well by the Yeomen Warders.  Amazingly, the ravens living at the Tower have been known to live up to 40 years or more – the one we came across was 27!

Nailed it. (You get it? I have the raven on my shoulder…yeah, I know. Could have been better, the proportions are all wrong.)

I have now been to the Tower of London twice, and I would go back again in a heart beat.  It is a must see site if you are visiting London.  The history, stories, the castle structure itself, not to mention the armory and Crown Jewels are very worth the price of a visitor’s ticket.  If you do go, be sure to stick around for the Yeomen tour as you will learn a lot more about the Tower of London.  These tours are fun, free, and maybe an hour long, giving you plenty of time to explore on your own.

My first visit to the Tower of London had a very unique twist to it.  It was a family vacation about 8 years ago, and we happened to be on one of the Yeomen tours when helicopters started flying overhead with increasing frequency.  The Yeomen leading our tour said not to worry, assuring any Americans that it wasn’t a terrorist attack.

Well, it wasn’t until after we left the Tower an hour or two later that my dad learned the true story.  Four bombs had gone off in the London Underground, and the city had shut down.  It was eerie to watch the streets and shops empty out in the following hour as we trekked back to our hotel (buses, taxi, and all modes of public transportation had shut down for the day).

View of Tower Bridge from the Tower of London

I’m very happy to report that my second visit included no such tragedies.  It was fascinating to explore the castle once again, and more in depth.  Having grown up a bit (sort of!) since my previous experience at the Tower, I can appreciate and understand more of its history and offerings.

Now don’t start getting any ideas from Moriarty, you hear?

The Crown Jewels will literally leave you in a state of awe, with a matching dropped jaw to boot.  The collection of jewels goes well beyond crowns and ceremonial garb, too.  I was especially impressed by the Exeter Salt (you will see this and think, “seriously, this is a salt container?”) and the creative nautilus chalices and the large nautilus shaped punch bowl ladle.  No matter who you are, you will probably find something to your own fancy and imagination when viewing the Crown Jewels.

There was one crown featured in the armory as opposed to the Crown Jewels (No photography is allowed in the Crown Jewels exhibit). Unfortunately, its significance escapes me at the moment…

Beyond the Jewels the Tower of London boasts a very cool armory exhibit.  You won’t want to miss out on wandering through this section of the castle.  Riddled with historical pieces of armor, weaponry, replicas, and even art, the armory is another source within the Tower for admiration and awe.

You’ll even come across some interactive pieces! I decided to try my hand at the longbow (I see a book in the making here: “If you give a girl a longbow…”)

Finally, the Royal Fusiliers Regimental Museum is a must see for anyone interested in military history.  This is not an area I study in particular, but still found this exhibit to be fairly interesting and worth a look around.  Uniforms, journals, guns, badges, flags, insignia and more are separated into different rooms based on the time period and wars fought.  You will definitely walk out having learned a thing or two about the English regiments and battlefield history.

Standing guard at the entrance to the Fusiliers Museum

The bottom line?  If you are visiting London, or have just never been, do not miss out on the Tower of London.  The unique history and amazing exhibits of the Crown Jewels, armory, and museum of the Tower are sure to impress.  A trip to this landmark would definitely go on my “Top 5″ list of things to do in London, so be sure to check it out next time you find yourself in this great city!

The Tower of London – specifically the Legges Mount

I’ll end it here readers, with the hope that I’ve fulfilled that promise of a good tale for the day.  Do keep in mind that reading about the Tower of London is one thing, walking through it is another!  Now I admit that I also hope this post makes up for my lack of recent posts.  School projects are reaching their peaks in terms of work load, and job searching has a top priority spot on my ‘to-do’ list.  I’m sure you know how it goes (life).

A big thanks for reading, cheers!  Until then…

Mischief managed

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Dear readers,

Do you ever save the best for last?  I have to say that I have a tendency to do this quite often, especially when it comes to food!  In the last few posts we have done the appetizer – Sommerset Tiddy Oggy – which was so much fun to make and quite tasty, learned what a swede was and substituted mashed potatoes for a treat of mashed rutabaga, and in the last post made good on the phrase ‘awesome sauce’ with a delicious port wine reduction sauce.

The full dinner (wine reduction sauce recipe to come!)

The final product? A fine plate of Somerset Tiddy Oggy

Now I’m not saying that one of these was any less fantastic than the other, but I do have rather a bias towards dessert – and this was some dessert.  Of course it made sense to have the dessert recipe last anyway, but have a look for yourselves.  Go on, just peak down.  Right?  This is a pear tarte tatin with pear schnapps, recipe courtesy of ‘Britain’s Best Dish’ cookbook.

If you’ll remember, my mom and I had picked out this meal (my last one at home before heading back to school) based off this cookbook the day before we made it in order to get all the ingredients.  This was all good and fine…until it came to the pear schnapps.  We checked three different spots before settling on something.

The first two stops on our hunt for schnapps were the two major grocery stores on the island.  Both had such things as peach schnapps, apple schnapps, but absolutely no pear schnapps (despite having even elderflower schnapps…).  So in we went to one of the liquor stores in town.  We browsed the shelves glancing through bottles of this and that, and found nothing.

The backup plan was to just use up the small amount of peach schnapps my mom was fairly certain remained at home.  However, in a last ditch effort we figured we would just ask the clerk up front.  Readers, when in doubt, a simple question to the right person can do wonders.  Now he had two different bottles of pear schnapps presented to us.

One was a pretty legit looking liqueur.  Picture a beautiful bottle with actual pears sitting inside the liquid to help flavor it.  Apparently, the bud of the flower is grown inside the bottle and that’s how full sized pears managed to find themselves in there!  (There’s no way you could have fit one through the neck of the bottle.)  Understandably, this bottle was going to be fairly expensive.

Our pear schnapps and pears

The second was a regular bottle with green liquid inside, and was a much better price for experimental use in one recipe.  About $15 or so, we debated as he helped another costumer and decided, ‘What the heck?  Let’s try it this time to really complete the experience!’.  And so that’s how we found ourselves walking out of the store with a large bottle of pear schnapps that was more than enough for this dessert.  The one condition was that I had to promise to find some kind of drink to have it with, too, so as not to let it go to waste.

So we had our schnapps and pears.  Let’s get on to the recipe, then, shall we?  I have to say that this recipe, though it seems like a lot of work, is actually not too difficult nor too time consuming once you get the hang of it.  It turns out beautifully and is very cool to see it come together.  You will need a pan that can go into the oven to make this with as little fuss as possible.

Pear Tarte Tatin! It’s a beautiful dessert

Ingredients: [Serves 6-8]

For Pastry:                                         For the Tarte:                         

1 cup flour                                            1 stick butter

2 tablespoons sugar                              3/4 cup sugar

pinch of ground cinnamon                      8 ripe pears*  

4 ounces butter, chilled                     1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 tablespoons pear schnapps

For Whipped Cream:

1 1/2 cups whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons sugar

*“Use a ripe, yet firm, pear that holds its shape. My favourite pear for this dish is Comice as it’s naturally firm-fleshed even when ripe, and has a nice, round-bottomed shape. In my restaurants we peel the pears and leave them, uncovered, in the fridge for a day. This helps them dry out, so they won’t release too much juice and dilute the caramel when you cook them. Don’t worry about them going brown as this actually adds to the finished dish.”  from Gordon Ramsey, BBC Good Food.

To make the pastry:

Mix together the sifted flour, sugar, cinnamon.  Add slices of butter and mix with a pastry blender until small pea size shapes form.  Add 2-4 tablespoons of water, one at a time until the dough comes together to form a ball.  Wrap in wax paper and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.  (Can be made a day ahead.)

Pastry dough (you’ll want to roll it out to the size of your skillet)

To create the tarte:

Peel, core and cut the pears into quarters.  (Can peel a day ahead and refrigerate)  Preheat oven to 350°.

Dice those pears, dice those pears!

To make the caramel, smear the butter over the bottom of a tarte tatin pan or ovenproof cast-iron frying pan.  Sprinkle over the sugar and dissolve over a medium heat until the sugar starts to caramelize.  Keep turning the pan now and again, so that the sugar does not catch.  Stir until the butter just starts to separate and the sugar has started to turn a light golden toffee color.

Caramelize the sugar and butter first in your cast iron skillet

Remove the pan from the heat and carefully add the pears to the butter and sugar mixture in the pan, arranging them in a layer over the bottom of the pan and packing them in tightly.  Return to the heat and cook for 10-15 minutes until really golden.  Sprinkle with the cinnamon and add the pear schnapps.  Leave to cool for 10 minutes.

Ok, get those pears in and get them cooking

Add the cinnamon and pear schnapps

On a floured work surface, roll out the pastry into a round large enough to cover the pan.  Carefully lay the pastry on the top of the pears, tucking the edges down in between the fruit and the edge of the pan.

When the pears have cooled down a bit, lay that dough over the mixture and tuck the edges down around the fruit.

Just like this.

Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes until the pastry is crisp and golden.

The crust comes out nice and golden after the pear tarte has been in the oven for about 30 minutes.

Leave the tart to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then carefully invert onto a serving plate.

Are you ready? Invert the skillet over a plate or platter

To serve, but into slices while still warm and serve with a generous dollop of whipped cream.

Pear Tarte tatin! It’s a beautiful dessert

For the whipped cream:

In a deep bowl, add the whipping cream, vanilla and sugar and beat with an electric mixer until stiff.  (Can be made ahead.)

We served ours with generous amounts of whipped cream…

This dessert is absolutely fantastic.  Everyone loved it!  The pear and caramel flavors blend together for a smooth, sweet, but mild taste.  The homemade whipped cream just adds another layer and creaminess to the otherwise fruit dominated dessert.  Each aspect, simple as they are, just comes together and creates an overall taste experience.  The only disappointment I had was that I wouldn’t get to partake in the left overs!

This pear tarte tatin has gone onto to my favorites list and would be a great recipe for a dinner party due to the presentation and taste – both ‘wow’ factors.  We did make drinks with the pear schnapps as well to have with our appetizers that night.  I just threw things together that I like and we ended up with a tasty concoction of pear schnapps, pineapple juice, and carbonated sanguinello juice – possibly cranberry juice…none of us actually wrote down how we made it so it was some mixture of these types of drinks.  Whatever the exact mix was, it was good accompaniment with the meal!

And that’s that.  Our British inspired meal was a success and I hope you’ll find the same should you decide to cook these up as well.  In other news, I’ve just sent out my very first ‘real job’ application (so it begins…) and my fingers are crossed.  Of course, I have a lot more work to do on that front!  But for now, I’ll settle with a new blog post.  Enjoy your weekends and thanks for reading, cheers!  Until then…

Mischief managed

Dear readers,

Maybe you are familiar with the Internet expression exclaiming sauce to be awesome, lame, and the like.  Well, just in case, here are some prime examples:

“My friend just had the brakes on her car replaced a month ago, but a part has to be replaced again!”  ”Wow, lame sauce.”  ”Tell me about it.”

OR

“Guess what?  I was hired by Pixar to contribute to their productions!”

“Awesome sauce!” [could also be phrased as "That is a plate/bowl/can of awesome sauce!" ]

To round it off, one of Urban Dictionary’s definitions of ‘Awesomesauce’ is as follows.   “Awesomesauce, on the other hand, is prepared by mixing equal parts of awesome, amazing and breathtaking. The awesomeness is slowly cooked and small parts of uncanny, extraordinary and magnificent are added.”

This, is a wonderful complement.

Well I’m here to bring you more than an expression today.  The next portion of the British meal we made was a delicious port wine reduction sauce.  This earthy sauce does take time, but is perfect to make your meal a little bit special and interesting, adding a touch of mellow sweetness.

The idea for this particular, awesome sauce came from the same recipe for swede (see previous post) in Britain’s Best Dish.  However, the recipe came from this website here: http://www.bigoven.com/recipe/164322/port-wine-sauce-for-filet-mignon-or-prime-rib

In the cookbook this sauce is paired with lamb, but we decided that we would try it out with Filet Mignon as the website has it with.  You can make it earlier in the day, as we did, and simply reheat it in the saucepan when you’re ready to serve dinner.  So if you’re doing steak for dinner but you’re tired of the regular seasoning, or if you are making it a meal for company, definitely give this sauce a try!

Listed below is the amount for the full recipe.  We halved it and it made enough sauce for about 6-7 servings (with Filet Mignon).

Ingredients:

- 2 1/2 tablespoons butter, divided use

- 1 half shallot, finely chopped

- 1 bottle tawny port (750 ml or 3 1/4 cups)

- 3 sprigs fresh thyme (used 1/2 teaspoon bottled)

- 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth (called for chicken)

- 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms

- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

- freshly ground pepper

Let’s get started then, shall we?  You’re going to start by making the reduction of the port wine.

Sizzle’n some shallots

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in saucepan over medium-low heat.  Add the diced shallot and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Then add all of the port (yes, a whole bottle!) and the thyme.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Watch for the boil, then reduce the heat to maintain a brisk simmer.  Cook until the port has reduced to the consistency of corn syrup, about 30 minutes.  There will be about 1/2 – a full cup, including the shallots.

Your port wine reduction should be coming along nicely

Meanwhile, bring the vegetable broth to a simmer in a small saucepan.  Once simmering, turn off the heat and add the package of porcini mushrooms.

Boom! Vegetable broth. Add this to a separate saucepan

This is creating a mushroom-enriched stock that will add a nice earthy base to the sauce.  Let the mushrooms soak for 15-20 minutes.  With a slotted spoon, remove the porcini, rinse and dice.  Set aside.

Add the dried porcinis to the saucepan of vegetable broth

Using a slotted spoon, separate the mushrooms

…and chop ‘em up

Strain the vegetable broth through a coffee filter, paper towel or cheese cloth to remove any dirt sediment that came from the porcini mushrooms.

Add the enriched stock and the diced mushrooms to the port reduction.  Bring the sauce to a boil over high heat, then reduce to maintain a brisk simmer.  Cook until it is reduced to about 1 1/3 cups – about 15 minutes.  Add pepper to taste.  (You can strain and remove the shallots and mushrooms if you like – we chose to leave them in.)  This makes a little more than 1 cup of sauce (we had that amount when we halved the recipe.)

Add the broth to the reduction

The sauce can be refrigerated at this point and is good for up to 2 days.  Seal carefully with plastic wrap.

Twenty minutes before plating your dinner, bring the sauce back to a low simmer, stir.  In a small bowl, melt the remaining butter and whisk in the flour, making a paste.  Add some of the port sauce into the mixture and then in turn, add the mixture into the saucepan with the reduction sauce.  This will thicken the sauce.  Add a teaspoon or so of a fine balsamic vinegar to taste.

Once you add the flour, your sauce will thicken and be ready to serve!

You can plate the sauce first and add the meat medallions on top, or pour the sauce on top of the steak – either way is perfectly fine.  The final step?  Enjoy your home made port wine reduction sauce!  (And receive proclamations of its awesome qualities from around the table)

The whole recipe will serve at least 8 people, probably more.

Make your dinner that much more special with this port wine reduction sauce

So that’s it for today, readers.  An Internet grammar lesson and a great recipe which I hope you’ll give a try!  It’s taken another turn for the cold here, so if you are experiencing the same winter weather, I hope you’re staying warm!  Next time around will bring the final recipe from this experimental meal, and I saved the best for last.  (Dessert, of course!)  Stay tuned and thanks for reading, cheers!  Until then…

Mischief managed

Dear readers,

What is this?  What is a swede you say?  Why it’s the next British dish we cooked up that day!  While gazing our eyes through the cookbook pages – oh boy, a new discovery!  Swedes are, in fact, rutabagas!

We went to the store with our list in hand, and three rounded rutabagas we grabbed for the dinner we had planned.  Brassica napobrassica – a rutabaga, a turnip, a swede!  Why, it’s called the Swedish turnip ‘cross the pond – which is why it stumped us, indeed!

Still, I, at the very least, had never had such a root.  But by the cookbook’s design, our choice seemed astute.  This page held such a picture, our interest was piqued!  Lamb served atop swede, why not pair it with another meat?  Steak was on the menu for this, my last night.  No potatoes, no, we mashed swede – our substitution quite right!

While this Dr. Seuss rhyme is quite fun to do, I’ll get on with the post and a new recipe for you!

Right!  So the swede, or rutabaga, is a hybrid of the turnip and cabbage.  It’s grown mostly in Northern parts of the United States, Europe, and Canada.  There are various different ways to cook it (many imitating potatoes): bake it, boil it, stir fry, mash, etc.  We decided to mash it following the basic recipe here http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/tools-and-techniques/how-to-cook-rutabaga.htm.  Again, this recipe was inspired by the cookbook, “Britain’s Best Dish”.  (Check out the previous post for the appetizer we made from the same book)

Some nice looking rutabagas

Swede: 4-5 servings

- 2 large or 4 small rutabagas

- Butter

- Nutmeg

- Salt and pepper

Start by chopping the rutabagas into chunks.  Add these into a pot of water, add a dash of salt, and bring the water to a boil.  Then turn down the heat and let the rutabagas simmer for about 40 minutes.

Drain the water and add the butter and nutmeg

Once soft, drain the water and get out the masher (we found that the hand masher worked much better than beaters).  Add around half a stick of butter to the pot (adjust to taste) and work in as it melts.  Add nutmeg to taste.  Mix in with the masher until you get the consistency of mashed potatoes.

Mash it up now

Serve hot, and enjoy!  (Seriously, though – my brother will attest to this – don’t let them sit on your plate and get cold and then start to tuck into them)

These were so easy to make and a nice change of pace from the usual side dishes.  I wouldn’t have these every week, but will definitely be adding them to a list of “make every so often” or with this type of hearty meal.  So why not mix it up and give these swedes/rutabagas a try?  A quick search online will provide you with different options for cooking them, which I myself would like to explore more!  Or come up with your own rutabaga recipe and add a comment with your modifications and thoughts!

The full dinner (wine reduction sauce recipe to come!)

In other news, I’ve finally been registered for my classes this semester and am, once more, an official student.  Hurrah!  Two of my three grad classes are already beginning our major, semester-long project, which will actually be pretty neat.  One project entails a redesign for the website for a (very real) company and the other we will be creating and marketing our own iOS game (mobile phone game).  Both are group projects and I’m quite happy so far with my groups based on our initial meetings this week!  So, between classes, staying warm, trying to stay fit and social, and writing, I’ve been working in time to seriously buckle down and commit to a job search (so if you know anyone looking for a writer, let me know!).

This is a button I need…

I hope your weeks are ending well – we’ve about hit the weekend! – and thanks for reading, cheers!  Until then…

Mischief managed