Did I tell you I’m training for the San Francisco Marathon? (http://www.thesfmarathon.com/) Well… I am. It’s July 31, which is just about 8 weeks from now!! I’m getting very excited! I’ve been amping up my workouts and running more and more.
Anyway, the point is… I haven’t been to San Francisco since I was a high school student (you know, a decade or so ago)
So. Where does one go?
After finals, and that one final niggling paper that I had (and finished with a full hour to spare!), I was thrilled to be done and excited to be school-free. I was looking forward to racing in the Maryland Half Marathon… and then as I crossed the finish line, I felt something snap in my foot. I tried to run, but my foot started to really hurt… So I did the smart thing, and put my running shoes away. I gave myself 7 days. But during those 7 days, I was losing my mind. I never realized what a big chunk of time running takes up… and how much time I spend plotting routes and getting ready for my runs. But, there I was with my feet in ice water and trying to take it easy. When the 7 days was FINALLY up, I laced up my shoes and shot out of my door with my music, THRILLED to be back on my feet. I was supposed to run an easy 3 miles to make sure the foot was feeling better, but just as I was settling into my 1st mile, my feet slipped on the curb and I fell (cartoon style) flat on my face. I scraped both of my palms, my left elbow, and my left knee. I tried to run the next mile, but ended up limping back home with blood pooling in my left shoe. That curb really took a chunk out of my arms and legs!
So, I am finally (after over 2 weeks of resting) ready to run again!!! But the point is, I am back. I will post new and delicious recipes soon!!!
I’m in the last few hours of my 2L year. After a grueling three weeks of exam studying and writing… I’m sitting in the library in the waning time and furiously typing to finalize my paper.
When I first came to law school, I came with the intention of learning to protect myself and my loved ones. I wanted to know what laws would protect me, and which ones would prevent others from taking advantage of me… but in the 2 years I have been here… I’m not sure I learned any of that. I know how to turn the words of the law into offensive replies. I know how the law has been used to the advantage of people who do not need the help of law to survive. I have written hundreds of pages about the multiple interpretation of law, and how it can be construed to benefit whichever side the professor sees fit.
I’m writing a paper on how court made law is constructed to protect the interests of the government and their violations of constitutional rights of individuals. And for me, this is the hardest paper I will write this year and it’s a mere 12 pages. Hard because I know my professor believes that the government’s interests are paramount to anything else. And I disagree. I believe that the law is to protect the country, it is to protect the people that do not have a voice and that cannot recover from damages to their person. I believe the intention of law is to protect, and to make us better people together. Instead, I’m writing a paper about the permissibility of constitutional right violations. You know, those rights that we are inherently born with. Freedom, speech, and our own sense of self. So, I’m sitting here trying to come up with reasons why we should let some people trample on our rights. Why? I understand the doctrine underlying the principles – we don’t want to clog the legal system with lawsuits against government officials who are trying to do their jobs… but there are some government officials that really need to be taken to court and cleaned from head to toe. And… what does that mean? A government official can stomp on my inherent rights as a human and a U.S. Citizen… AND on top of it, I can’t assert my rights to take him to court to have justice. And how about him? Does that mean he can take ME to court if I violate his rights as a person? Something is not right here…
And this is not the only place where I have felt that we, as a nation, have forgotten the purpose of law. Law is not to hurt each other. Law is for protection and guidance. And yet, here I am writing pages on how to screw my fellow people – the ones that need their rights and voices most.
I have two more days left of utter hell before I am finally done with 2L year. This morning, I woke up at 6 and immediately started writing. At 4:50pm I turned in my 21 page (single spaced) cert paper. The deadline was 5:00pm. SWEET!
Now, I’m writing another paper… on immunity. I just don’t remember what it is… oh dear. Anyway, these are some things that I own and adore.
Mango Wood Bowl – I normally fill this with the candy of the month and leave it on my counter. But I love this bowl because I bought it in undergrad when I was having a bad day… and it’s pretty. It’s the perfect shape and size for candy and it looks nice on my counter.
These are my new flats. They’re a little tight, but I couldn’t pass them up. They are just so sweet and pretty
And finally, just some random pictures 🙂
So, as I mentioned yesterday, I bought soft shell crabs. The gentleman that sold them to me was very sweet and explained how to clean them properly. Once I got home, and re-stocked my refrigerator with all my new little purchases, I decided to just double check his instructions. I consulted Connie’s guide on how to clean soft shell crabs at ouichefcook before diving into my endeavor. She also has some great tips of cooking, so I followed her instructions on that also.
I never thought of myself as squeamish, until yesterday. Those little buggers didn’t move a single floppy appendage when the man at the stand explained how to clean them, but the minute I put them on my demi-sheet they were wiggling around everywhere. I couldn’t bear the feel of them wiggling under my fingers, so I copped out and used tongs and a pair of kitchen shears to make the appropriate cuts. Even after I cut major sections of their bodies away, they continued to wiggle. I felt like a villain leaving them wiggling around in a dish until I got around to cooking them for dinner at 7, so I fried them almost immediately. Even though it was 10:00am, I just had to finish cooking the soft shell crabs before I lost my nerve. Plus, I knew I’d be obsessing about it all day if I didn’t cook them immediately.
I lightly coated both soft shell crabs in a dusting of flour, salt, and pepper. Then in a shallow pan with about a cup of Canola oil, I fried them for 3 1/2 minutes per side until they were red and golden brown.
These were, hands down, the best soft shell crabs I have ever eaten. Maybe because I had to go through all of the effort of cleaning them to eat it, but they were so good! If I knew better, I’d be embarrassed to admit that I ate both of them in a single sitting. I ate them with just a bit of salad and strawberries.
However, (BIG however) after cleaning these crabs, I was still not feeling great about it. There is something about personally being responsible for these little live creatures while you rip off their face and rip out their gills so you can devour them with a bit of lemon. I felt a bit villainous cutting into their bodies while they were clearly alive. I don’t know how much better I would feel if I were to kill them first… but I just didn’t like the feeling that I was torturing something, even if it is just shellfish. Regardless, it was a good culinary experience. It made me really consider what I do consume and the way we consume live things for sustenance.
I try not to post angry things here, but sometimes it’s just really hard not to.
Today, I get to the library with a giant square of my freshly baked rhubarb coffee cake and I’m all set to study when my pesky little phone lights up. Of course it has to be from an ex-boyfriend asking me to give him back something or other that he gave me more than 6 months ago. And then doing his usual “let’s cut down Heidi’s self-esteem and be a dick” conversations. I refused to respond, and he continued to text me. And… you know what? I’m fucking pissed.
I’m furious. I am sick and tired of this endless litany of shitty relationship and shittier endings. Between the thieving boyfriends, and the giant cheater, and the ones that just don’t know when to let go -I feel like I’m drowning in a sea of losers. I don’t know if I should think less of myself for picking these idiots or think less of them for their giant, gaping flaws. It’s not a pity party, I’m just furious at myself for wasting all of this time on them. The cheating, lying, stealing, and general crap behavior… when is it over?
Until then? I will be faithfully devoted to myself, because I know that I will always remain faithful to myself and I will never let myself down. I know that the yeast and flour will always make bread, and butter and eggs make good cookies. I know that running will always put a smile on my face, and the steady strides and breathing will get me to the finish line. I know these things.
I went to the farmer’s market… and as I’m apt to do, I went a little crazy with the buying. I just like farmer’s markets and when I see all of the people and the produce I just want to buy it all.
I found an adorable gentleman who sold me two soft-shell crabs… I cleaned them (eeek!) and ate them with great gusto. I was pleased that I had cleaned them myself… but a little freaked out that they continue to move even as I was hacking into their vital organs and cutting their faces off. It makes me cringe still. ::cringe::
Well, last week I walked past anything that required cooking/baking because I was in study mode. I’m still in study mode, but I decided that this week I was going to just spend a couple hours cooking and enjoying myself before going back to :::i-want-to-kill-someone::: study mode. When I saw these arm length (or if you’re short, like me, 1/2 body length) rhubarb, I had to have them. They were so delightfully pink, I immediately grabbed them.
I did like Connie at ouichefcook and tossed the sliced rhubarb in sugar before letting it drain in the refrigerator for 8 hours. Then, I decided I wanted coffee cake crumbs in a buttermilk based cake. So I fused Lottie + Doof’s favorite cake with some coffee cake crumbs… with a layer of rhubarb in between the cake. So maybe I over-did it a little bit. I ended up with is a 9×13” cake that’s about 2 inches thick. I told you. I’m not good at subtle. Or a little. I like BIG. Bigger = better. DUH…Â I might have been a Texan in a former life.
The crumbs are just perfectly crunchy and the cake is pillowy. And the layer of rhubarb is just acidic and tart enough to balance the crunchy crumbs. And since I absentmindedly left out the vanilla extract, the cake tastes just like rhubarb. I know some people won’t like it because it’s a bit tart, but this giant corner slice I pried out of the pan before it cooled is just delicious.
Anyway. Here is what I did
Giant Rhubarb Coffee Cake (Kaprise Kitchen interpretation from a little of this and a little of that)
Rhubarb:
Crumbs:
Happy Mother’s Day! You are simply the best!!!
There are not enough words in the world to express all of my love for you. Thank you for your love, your care, and everything you gave up for me. Thank you for listening to my countless hours of venting and the countless hours you spent helping me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are my one and only champion and the only person to always be on my side.
With all my heart;
Your bratty 2nd kid, that still hasn’t grown up!
When I was a kid, my summers were filled with books and lots of time running in the sun dappled yard. My mother would us strap us into our trusty red Volvo, and drive us to the library with the windows down. We’d sneakily stick our hands out the window to feel the wind push our hands back. My sisters and I would quiet the minute we go to the library, solemnly picking out our books and propping ourselves on the stacks to read the interesting ones right away. And after the air-conditioning had sufficiently seeped into our bones, we would pile back into the car with our stacks of books. We would spend the rest of the afternoons with our piles of books in the yard reading. I remember sitting on blankets on the deck reading books until the sun set. The soft breeze rippling through the grass and the shade on the deck lulling me into the books.
Well, other than wishing that these huge tomes of law books were nearly so fun to read and that I was still in my backyard plastered to my books like I was as a kid… I remember reading a story that talked about cheese straws. It sounded so glamorous and delicious. The main character was in London, and her friends were visiting and she scraped together these cheese straws with “just a bit of butter, cheese, flour, and water.” I wanted to feel as glamorous in my chic apartment munching on cheese straws… so I obviously tried my hand at it. My mother’s the forgiving sort that let us experiment with all of the kitchen supplies, and would patiently watch while we insisted we knew what we were doing. After mushing together an extraordinarily expensive chunk of cheese with some flour, water, and butter… I baked my little straws. They were actually just awful. I was just a kid, but the cheese straws I imagine in my head were light and crunchy and melted on your tongue. The ones that I had made were heavy blocks of floury cheese.
Needless to say, I never looked at another recipe for cheese straws again. I just wasn’t interested in baking blocks of disappointment. But, then two years ago when I started law school, I was actually living alone in my chic little apartment with my equally chic little puppy. I felt that it was time to try my hand at cheese straws again. I followed the recipe on smittenkitchen, which was delicious, but the dough was just a bit too substantial for me. I wanted little straws that were meltingly lovely and that were equally pretty. So, I tweaked. Just a bit. And discovered that a combination of cheddar and the best Parmesan (that my teensy grocery carries) made all of the difference. A generous sprinkle of crushed red pepper made them just spicy enough, and of course, all food must be pretty… so I used the teensiest fluted cutter I have.
Cheese Circles (Adapted from smittenkitchen, who references Lee Bros. Southern Cooking)
Happy Birthday Boo!!
It has been just over three years since you came into my life, and I feel so lucky to have you. Every morning I wake up and laugh because you are rolled over snoring or breathing little clouds of stinky dog breath on me. I love your fuzzy little feet and your floppy ears. I love your curled tail and your insistence to sleep in my dirty laundry. I love that you figure out how to sit on slippery chairs and pull the shower curtain up to interrupt my showers. I love that you change colors all of the time. You were black and tan, and then snow white, and right now you are some weird tan color. I love that you are picky and refuse to eat treats. I love when you run and your ears flop and you hop around like a bunny rabbit.
And right now? I love that you cheer me up when I need a laugh because finals are kicking my ass. I love that you faithfully wait by the door for me to come back from the library and then drool on my lap while I review notes. I love every single little thing about you.
Happy Birthday, my baby Boo!
Kaprise! 