Disappointment.

I have absolutely nothing to complain about.  I'm sitting in bed, listening/watching it storm outside, watching Pleasantville on tv, and drinking my delicious coffee.

However, I'm feeling bummed.  When I want to complain about petty things, this is where I go. sorry.

My sister, a 6th grade english teacher, was blessed with never getting sick (seriously, it's a running joke in the family).  Even when she worked with all those kids for a year, she never got sick.  However, I am currently sick and am going to blame my sister's recent visit.  I think she passed on the diseases that 6th graders have to me.  I have a sinus headache right now that makes me want to chop off my head.  seriously.  I got 4 hours of sleep last night because of this said headache.  When I woke up from my "nap", the headache was still there.  taunting me.  It has made my week of freedom an uncomfortable one, and I'm ready for it to skidaddle.

On top of this nasty cold/ sinus thing I've got going on, my favorite food blogger somewhat disappointed me. Actually, not 'somewhat', she really did. Last night she posted a pretty difficult recipe for a braided lemon bread.  The instructions were a bit confusing, so I worked up the guts to comment on her blog.  This may not sound like a big deal but, people, this lady has THOUSANDS of followers.  For me to comment and her to respond would be like a celebrity talking to me (I take pleasure in the little things in life... if you haven't noticed).  I was so excited to comment and have her respond to my question.  But you know what? she didn't.  And she has now responded to two people that posted comments after me.  Apparently there are such things as stupid questions, and I guess I asked one last night that was not worth responding to.  I'm bummed.

I hope I can get out of bed to make it to my movie this afternoon.  I feel like Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh. Ohhhh bother...

no rhubarb... blame the rain.

Well kids, no rhubarb.  Actually, no farmer's market.   Thunderstorms kept me (and I'm assuming most of the farmers as well) in bed. Have no fear! Another attempt will be made on Saturday! In about 2 weeks I'll be in Kansas City for good and its farmer's market is to die for... Aside from finding any sort of fruit (seriously... fresh cherries, oranges, bananas, etc) or vegetable your heart desires, there are also all kinds of specialty shops like indian food stores and seed/spice stores  (and nothing compares to the baked goods the amish farmers bring). Please come visit us so I can take you there :)

I did visit some antique stores today (mom, you would be so proud).  If you are ever in Fayetteville and love to antique, may I suggest the Fayetteville Trading Post. I didn't find anything, but they had some pretty interesting things.

What's in store for tomorrow, you ask? Going to see a movie... not sure when or what, but I'm thinking a movie by myself is just what the doctor ordered.  Probably a horribly sappy, oh-so-wonderful chick flick like Letters to Juliet or something.

For a graduation present, my lovely sister gave me a tart pan.  I'm looking for a great tart recipe to use it.  any ideas?

lessons learned...or not?

I'm going to admit a few things here...

1) I judge a book by its cover.  Actually, I judge just about everything by its cover.

2) I'm prone to habits.  I rarely stray from what I'm used to and what I know works.

This brings me to my most recent food attempt.  Strawberry coffee cake.

Okay, so what's not to love about the title of this recipe? I recently bought fresh strawberries at the farmer's market (yes, folks, it's strawberry season... which means rhubarb is just around the corner!) and have been looking for a recipe to use them.... I love strawberries. I love coffee. I love cake. HOW could I have not made this?

So, to begin with, I strayed from the usual, tried and true recipe finder.  I borrowed this recipe from another food blog I follow (which brings me back to number 2.... I stick to things that work for a reason).  I followed the recipe exactly like it said, but, unlike my usual food blogger I turn to, this blogger did not get rid of the kinks in the recipe.  For instance, the batter was entirely way too thick to deal with, and like I guessed it would, it turned out pretty dry.  So, yet again, my ridiculous, non-risk taking personality was confirmed and will probably stay.

Like any good baker, you must always try your creation before serving it (okay, so that's really only my rule.  I'm just always terrified of serving people something nasty I've created). The first bite was not so good.  You couldn't taste any strawberry, it was entirely way too dry, and it just lacked the umph that I was so hoping for.  I didn't throw it all away, but I did dismiss the recipe as a fail (back to point number 1... I always judge the cover).

This morning, I decided to try one more attempt.  This time, I went for a piece in the middle.  And, oh, how I was mistaken!! The strawberries were perfectly juicy, the cake was perfectly moist, and the topping was perfectly crumbly!

With that being said, I'm going to chalk up this failure (well, half of the cake was a failure) to using the wrong baking pan.  I used a dark non-stick pan causing the cake to bake faster and thus, the edges to be dry. (smittenkitchen would ALWAYS prevent me from making such a mistake ha).

I guess in this case, the first piece of the cake was the cover and I most definitely judged it.  I wouldn't say NEVER bake this cake (the middle is rather delicious), just use a clear baking pan.  Or, if you insist on using a dark one, cut the baking time down about 20 minutes.

Thursday morning farmer's market tomorrow... guess who will be there? searching for her rhubarb?

I came up with a theory while heating up my frozen dinner box this evening... I have become a regular food blog stalker.  From what I have stalked, rhubarb is a HUGE hit when its season arrives.  Most serious bakers can't wait for rhubarb season! seriously! So, I'm thinking that last year when I grabbed the rhubarb from the farmer, I was grabbing the bottom of the barrel rhubarb.  The kind nobody wants... because it's not pink! I'm thinking if I want the good stuff, I gotta get there early.  So, that's the plan for tomorrow.  Let's hope I can get me some rhubarb (pink rhubarb that is)!

Brisket and poptarts make the world go 'round...

aghhhhh it's been so long! I haven't blogged in ages, and my fingers have been DYING to type!

I'm exaggerating, of course.  Sometimes I get in moods where I just don't feel like blogging.  Is that bad? I did miss you, blogspot.  Just not enough, I guess. No worries, friends, I still check it everyday to see everyone's updates.  I religiously stalk you, actually.  Don't be too creeped out.

Anywho...  I know you have all lost sleep about how my brisket turned out. Have no fear, your restless nights are over.  The brisket was fan-tas-tic.  Every syllable of that word should be highlighted.  The recipe is fool-proof and amazing.  My apartment smelled like brisket for a week. (which actually doesn't sound that appetizing?) mmmm.... I'm remembering it fondly.

onions doing what they do best... caramelizing.....

Reminds me of meals as a kid.  soooo good.

Seriously, folks.  PUH-lease make this brisket soon. Whoever you make it for, even if it's just for yourself, just make it. It's fabulous.  And I'm pretty sure it can draw any man in.  It's that good.  Tad swooned for about 2 hours after he ate it. For all you gentlemen reading this... I swear. you'll LOVE it. and you'll love anyone who makes it for you.

Now on to poptarts.... poptarts, you ask? Yes... poptarts.  I now know how to make them.  (and no, not just unwrapping them and putting them in the toaster).

Guess what?  The homemade ones are better.  No, they do not have the fake, sugary icing, but these have the flaky, buttery, sugary pie crusts that everyone loves to eat (unless you're tad).  They are filled with your own homemade love, whether that's jam, cinnamon sugar, or something savory. I have to admit something though... I love smitten kitchen (yes, we all know this, and no, this is not what I'm admitting) but this recipe was a a little bit more difficult than advertised (like 1.5 hours more difficult).  I had a lot of trouble with the dough.  Maybe I just cook in too warm of a kitchen.  Regardless, the end product was worth eating every morning for seven days straight (Did I just admit that?)

I made mine with raspberry jam... superb.

notice how imperfect my poptarts are? Apparently I can't make 3x5 rectangles.

Again, people, please try this recipe.  I live in a shoe box, so I'm sure the rest of you will have no problem with the 'sticky dough' and 'too warm kitchen' troubles that I ran into ( by this, I mean, when I turn on my oven, the apartment heats up like I turned the heat on in december) .  If you do happen to live in a space the size a mouse would be comfortable in, no worries... The recipe is still fun (trust me).  It just takes a little longer with the sticky dough!

Now, I would like to thank you all for the WONDERFUL birthday I had.  It definitely trumped last year's.  I'll just leave pictures of the great day...

The amazing sunset I woke up to (5:00 am) when I had to study for the biochem final... on my birthday.

Mexican food and margaritas for lunch? yes, please.

The OH- SO- AMAZING birthday cake I was surprised with... love you, family.

To top it off?? Vanilla cake with strawberry jam filling on top, chocolate cake with whipped cream filling on the bottom...A-mazing.

Beautiful lavendar flowers delivered.... doesn't get much better.

All in all, a great birthday.  seriously, great.  Now, because I'm writing this so behind, I just so happened to finish my last final of my undergrad today.  This is what freedom looks like...

(If you happen to notice, I got a pedicure on Monday:) great birthday present from the tadster)

Guess what's in store for tomorrow morning?

Thursday morning farmer's market...I know you're hoping I bring home some rhubarb....

Return of the cooking monster!

The time has finally come! I'm back to cooking! Free time is a beautiful beautiful thing.

Like I said last week, a cake was going to be the cure to my two- week cooking hiatus.  And oh my, how it was!  I used the oh-so-fabulous cake cookbook, The Cake Doctor.

I improvised a bit on the recipe... I didn't have all of the ingredients for one recipe, but I just so happened to have the ingredients for a cake and an icing (from two different recipes).  So, I put them together! And let me tell you... it was worth it.

The cake was simple and fun, but NOTHING beats the magic I created with the chocolate ganache.  Seriously, it was magic.  Any novice chef can make it, it sounds fancy, and it was so fun to watch happen! Chop up 8 oz. semi sweet baking chocolate...

Add 1 cup of boiling heavy whipping cream, and mix it until the magic is created...

Finally, drizzle the yellow cake with the little piece of heaven you created...

pretty good eh? The icing actually stays shiny and delicious looking while it hardens at the same time.  I didn't want to mess it up with foil or plastic wrap, so I had to drive to kansas city with it on my lap...

Seriously so good... The weekend wasn't too shabby either.  We had a great time at Cabela's, Nebraska furniture mart (shopping for furniture for the new apartment), and the casino... I'll leave this post with some pictures from the weekend.

Two bears playing at cabela's (definitely not fighting)

A HUGE (very unsightly) chair

I was weaseled into taking my dad's place at Nick's picture taking for prom.  Never doing it again. I did get a cute picture in with my brother in his very handsome tuxedo though.

I won $500 at the casino!

Just kidding... these were the penny slots. I only won $5 :) (which I quickly lost a few minutes later)

A second before we were about to leave, I won almost all of my $20 back! I love the fireball penny slots!

My two favorite girls in the entire world, Kate and Millie, positioning themselves in the smartest position in the room... where they know they can get food:)

What's next on my cooking list? BRISKET. Going to start it now... I'll let you know how it goes!

DONE.

ahhhhhhh.... breath of fresh air.... freedom.... aahhhhhh.... feeeeeeels gooooood.

Thesis defense went fantastically. My committee members were tough for a little bit, but overall were great.  I was telling Tad about my defense when it was over, and I realized something I said... When a committee member asked me a question about something I had written in my thesis, I'm pretty sure I answered: "Oh gosh, I can't remember... I'm having a brain fart." awesome.

Oh well, they still passed me and I'll be graduating with honors :). And my research project is officially over.  I'm glad my actual thesis is done, but a little sad about my research ending.  I thoroughly enjoyed my research... it was exciting, fun, and brought me amazing opportunities. It was the best thing to happen to me in college, and it will definitely be missed.

So after my defense, Tad and I decided to celebrate with sushi and golf. Golf you ask? Yeah, never stepped foot on a golf course.  While Tad golfed....

I enjoyed relaxing with a beer and good book.

It was the most fun I've had in a long time. The golf course was gorgeous and the weather was fantastic.  We have some friends that live on the golf course on the 7th hole, so we took a little break to have a beer with them.  So much fun.  Some pictures of the course...

So I'm definitely itching to bake something... haven't really had the time yet though.  Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to bake a couple things to bring to the family this weekend.  Any suggestions on what to bake? I'm thinking a cake... or something banana-y (sp?).  I have 3 bananas that are perfectly ripe... not really to eat (unless you like realllly ripe bananas) but definitely to bake with. I was given a wonderful early birthday/ graduation gift from janey: a cake cookbook.  Does it GET any better? I'm thinking a cake just might scratch the itch...

sorry, please, and thank you.

Thesis defense tomorrow.  This is what I've looked like for the past week. Sorry if I haven't returned calls or been rather mean.  Tomorrow I'll be nice again.  promise.

Why am I freaking out so much? There's no way Kumar will let me not pass with honors... I don't think that's ever really happened to someone as an undergraduate who has invested so much time and money into a research project. That would be just cruel. However, if you do know someone who hasn't passed with honors after doing research, please don't correct me till tomorrow after 2:00. thaaaanks.

I guess it just boils down to me actually defending my two year long research project to a panel of sharks.  I have to convince them that I've done work, that I know what I'm talking about, that I can DEFEND what I've spent the past two years doing. That's what's giving me anxiety.  And I am apparently stupid because I thought it was a good idea to ask two of the meanest teachers on our campus to be on my committee.  Sure they like me outside of class... but on a thesis defense? Come on natalie, use your head next time. (Can you imagine what I would be like if I was defending a dissertation or something? yeesh)

Anywho... I'm worrying for no reason I'm sure.  Thank you all for the very nice comments on my blog.  They make my day... each and every one of them.  And thank you for the shallot information... I found them at walmart! Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to cook, but that should change soon! Now I just need my dang rhubarb....

(p.s. here is a picture of rhubarb for those of you who haven't seen it)