Author Archives: kaprise

Whirlwinds

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It’s the start of the craziness for finals. I’ve already been in the library all morning, but I have so many things just whirling around in my head. I can’t focus on just one thing. I’m thinking about that creep that won’t stop calling me (thank you at&t for blocking his number!). I’m feeling a little insulted over a crap comment someone made to me a week ago. I feel a little tired because I fell asleep in my chair. I’m feeling a little bored. I’m thinking about my college buddy visiting. I’m thinking about dresses and weddings and running. I’m thinking about the 20 page paper I need to write, and the class I have to study for (when I didn’t ever go to class). I’m just all over the place. So, I’m making a list of all of the things I want to do before I turn 30.

  1. Run a full marathon (scheduled for July 31)
  2. Spend 1 year traveling – I want to see Fiji, South Africa, South America, and Iceland (and everything in between!)
  3. Learn some sort of martial arts, and be really good at it
  4. Master snowboarding, and snowboard at Whistler
  5. Make a difference in at least one person’s life
  6. Learn to butcher a cow from start to finish (I know it’s kinda gross, but I want to know how to do it)
  7. Drive across the continental United States, coast to coast.

Peanut Sesame Noodles

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I remember I loved those Chinese takeout noodles that were just sticky with peanut butter. There was something just so good about those noodles…

Since becoming a pseudo adult (I mean really, I just feel like adult sounds so… blah! and I’m not blah!), I’ve been cooking more and more. Plus, now I have healthy neurosis about germs and dirty hands, and then my weird love affair with bleaching things… but besides the point. And, I live in Baltimore. KFC and McDonald’s takes 20 minutes, and it’s already made!! So I cook for myself. A lot of people say that cooking for one is sad… is it? I would rather make my food the way I want it and not have to consider anyone else. (I had a boyfriend who used to liberally salt and pepper anything I made before even taking a single bite… and that pissed me off.)

This recipe is just enough for one serving of noodles, with just a bit of sauce to spare for dipping veggies in or to refrigerate until the next time you need some quick noodles. These noodles take me 20 minutes from when I put the water up to when I’m done eating. Super quick!

Peanut Sesame Noodles (liberally adapted from New York Times, April 2007)

  • 1 serving of noodles (I normally use buckwheat soba noodles, but angel hair, egg noodles, or whatever fits your fancy would be fine too)
  • 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
  • 1 1/2 tablespoon of soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar (I have used white vinegar and it tastes just fine)
  • 1 tablespoon of sesame paste (I used tahini)
  • 1 tablespoon of chunky peanut butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon of chopped garlic
  • 1 pinch of sugar
  • 1 pinch of ginger (if you have fresh ginger, just a quick swipe on a microplane should do it)
  • 1 teaspoon of chili paste (I have the Korea kind – go-chu-jjang. But you can omit this, or substitute red pepper flakes for the spice)
  • Sliced vegetables and a bit of salad (I use cucumber, tomato and a bit of arugula)
  1. Boil a pot of water and add the noodles. In the mean time – make the sauce
  2. In a small, microwave-proof bowl stir all of the ingredients (minus the veggies) together.
  3. Microwave for 30 seconds and stir until smooth
  4. Once the noodles are cooked – drain immediately and toss with 3 tablespoons of the sauce (or you get the amount of sauce you want on the noodles).
  5. Add veggies and eat!

(Note: These noodles do not taste good cold, so you are best making just enough for your meal. Save the sauce in the fridge for next time, just microwave for 30 seconds before tossing with the fresh noodles)

Zucchini Fritters

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When I was a kid, my mother kept a garden. We grew cherry tomatoes, green beans, zucchini, and a bunch of other vegetables. And even though I was a picky kid, I would run out the door and stand amongst all of the plants and pick the vegetables off the stems to my hearts content. (I’ve always had a thing for picking vegetables and fruit… I like it!). I would eat the cherry tomatoes by the handful, smelling their wonderful green smell. I loved the green beans raw, and would often eat them all before I even got to the kitchen. The zucchini was something I couldn’t just munch on standing in the garden, but I loved it all the same. My mother would slice the zucchini into thin strips and fry them ever so lightly so that you could have these amazing and crunchy fritters. She made zucchini bread and this amazing Korean side dish (I have to ask her about that…), and all sorts of things with zucchini.

Anyway, in a fit of nostalgia, I made these zucchini fritters with a friend and devoured them for dinner. I serve them with just a bit of soy sauce and vinegar. A small caveat – these are not nearly as delicious as the ones my mother made for me as a kid… I just don’t know what she did to make them so yummy!

Zucchini Fritters (Kaprise Kitchen style… Mom – I need you to teach me how to make them like yours!)

  • 2 medium sized zucchini, julienne
  • 1 medium sized yellow onion, sliced thinly
  • 2 eggs, beaten lightly
  • 1/2 cup of sifted flour
  • 1/2 cup of corn (thawed, if you use frozen like me)
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon of pepper
  1. In a large bowl, mix the egg and flour until a batter forms.
  2. Toss the remaining ingredients in the batter until lightly coated.  (Or, you can just do what I did, and stir it all together)
  3. In a skillet, heat about 1/4 cup of canola oil until it shimmers (I promise, once I get one of those thermometers I’ll give you more accurate temperatures!)
  4. Drop tablespoons of batter into the oil and fry for 3-4 minutes per side, until the center of the patties are cooked through.
  5. I squish mine down just a bit so they are more like pancakes, and obviously fry them just a teensie bit longer so they are crunchy!

Fury

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You know when you get stuck in a situation that just sucks? You’re in that position even though you didn’t do anything wrong, and no matter what you do – you are just stuck. Helpless because whichever way you try to resolve the problem, you’re still screwed.

I came to law school because I hated feeling that way. I hated feeling like someone was screwing me over. I hated seeing other people try to take advantage of my family and my friends. I hated feeling like I had no way to protect myself, no matter how hard I fought.

Anyway, I’m feeling particularly annoyed because someone is making my sister’s life difficult, and even though know she’ll prevail legally… I have the overwhelming urge to run up to the bastard and throttle him. Physically make him helpless and vulnerable. I want to push him up against a wall and break every single bone in his hands, and explain to him why acting like an insufferable jackass isn’t nice.

UGH!

Things

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I’ve been up since 5 trying to work on my paper, and it’s just not happening. So I’m writing a list of things on my mind so I can get back to focusing….. 9 pages down – 11 more to go!

  1. I don’t wear flip flops unless I’m walking the dog or going to the beach/pool.
  2. I have to figure out how I’m going to study and write all my exams. I didn’t study all semester and now I feel screwed
  3. My dog puked last night, and then rubbed her little pukey face on my blanket, so I’m smelling puke. I’m going to need to bleach everything
  4. I’m running out of bleach
  5. My stomach is still upset from DR, so I’m sticking to drinking tons of water and coke. Ahhhhh
  6. Someone told me a story about how we first met… I don’t remember, but apparently I hit on him and told him he was cute. Wonderful.
  7. I have an interview at 3:00pm, and I don’t have any clean pants for my suit – so I’ll be stuck in a skirt… but I don’t have any clean tights. Stupid laundry
  8. I’ve been bitching about my neighbor, but I’m suddenly feeling charitable so I’m ignoring it. Plus… it could be worse right?
  9. I’m debating on running a full marathon. Though judging by the massive quantities of caffeinated beverages I need to drink to write for 4 hours…. I might need to just stick to the normal 1/2
  10.  I’m “talking” to this guy… but I think I’m over it already. I just don’t feel the need to commit just yet. I mean really, single life is just awesome.
  11. I was accused of being “not very affectionate” – just for the record, fuck you. I just don’t work that way. You know what you got into when you met me, so get over it. I mean really, I just want to be left alone. Why is that so hard?
  12. My goal in life is to finish law school, and then spend the rest of my life having fun. Who goes to law school for fun? This shit isn’t fun at all.
  13. I’m working on losing 10 more pounds, so I’m starting to cut out the excess carbs and the high calorie drinking (I’m pretty sure I gained about 5 pounds this weekend from drinking jack and coke)
  14. I haven’t skinned a knee since 10th grade. But this weekend I skinned both of my knees and scraped up my palms. I mean really…
  15. I like purple highlighters – and I need another since mine is dying a slow death at the hands of my cert paper
  16. And that is all.

Back to work!

Mushroom Melt

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I think we have established, I really like mushrooms. So it’s no surprise, that I made this delicious sandwich. (For the record, I do NOT eat tuna melts. Warm tuna, mayo, and limp veggies is just yuck. And that smell…. it rivals my distaste for the smell of airplane coffee. Gross man.)

There are no hard and fast rules for this sandwich, but I often add other vegetables too. Sometimes I grill some eggplant and zucchini. And I often use different kinds of cheese. Either way you like your sandwiches – this is a quick way to whip up dinner (or in my case, a midnight snack) that is healthier than Chinese takeout.

Mushroom Melt (Kaprise Kitchen style)

  • 1 package of button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
  • 1 small onion, halved and sliced thinly
  • 1 small bunch of parsley
  • 1 tablespoon of good butter (I made my own, and it’s just delicious)
  • pinch of salt and pepper
  • 1/4 cup of dry white wine
  • good rolls, sliced and toasted lightly
  • 1 cup of shredded cheese, like mozzarella or provolone
  • 1 tomato, sliced thinly
  1. Toss mushrooms, salt, and pepper in a hot skillet with butter until the moisture is released and evaporated
  2. Stir in onions, and when the onions just begin to become translucent, stir in wine and parlsey
  3. Cook until moisture has evaporated and the mushrooms begin to sear just a bit. Remove from heat.
  4. Toast rolls under the broiler for just a minute, top toasted rolls with tomatoes
  5. Pile mushrooms on top of the roll/s
  6. Sprinkle cheese (or in my case, HEAP!)
  7. Broil for 5 minutes or until the cheese has just melted
  8. Enjoy!

Two Wines

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A few weeks ago (I know, I’m just feeding you all old news), my next door neighbor and I uncorked a couple bottles of wine. Both were comparable in price, but we both felt that the Malbec was superior. The Malbec was a bit smoother and easier to sip. It was plush. The Phantom, on the other hand, was a bit dryer and a bit less friendly. I think it would be superior with a generous rare steak, but on it’s own it was a bit too dry and a bit too oaky.

Inside My Head

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I bake and cook to blow off steam.Something about the mixing and patient stirring chills me out. I don’t often use recipes, and if I do, I rarely follow them. I tweak and stir and do my own thing. I get mixed results, sometimes good, sometimes terrific and other times just flat out gross. But, when I do hit something out of the park and someone asks for a recipe, I’m always at a loss. Because I bake and cook in a bit of firestorm of energy, I don’t often write down what I did. I can remember the day of, but normally a few days pass and I’m off trying to make something else. This year, I attempted to write down the things I did when I was cooking… I thought I could make my own little booklet of recipes that are tried and true.

In the last couple weeks – this is what I ended up with

I was going to organize it all today, but all of the baking and cooking is just for me. It’s to relax and just let go… so I decided not to impose my super organized neurotic being on the single indoor activity that chills me out. After all, hobbies are just for fun, right?

 

Leaking Helium

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I landed last night at 10:30pm and I was thrilled to finally be done traveling, but as my friend drove me to my apartment I felt a bit like a leaking balloon. Deflating, slowly. You know, the kind of balloons that have such a slow leak that you don’t realize it until they are inches off the ground and minutes from being popped by a stray kick. Dramatic right? But this semester has been particularly taxing, between school and the constant need to pick myself up. It’s tiring to cheer yourself up all of the time.

Anyway, before I went on my little trip, on one of my little market runs my curiosity was piqued when I saw these gorgeous hot pink dragonfruits and a display of weird green citrus looking fruits. The sign said they were “uniq fruit” from Jamaica.

The dragonfruit was breathtakingly gorgeous, but shockingly not delicious. I expected the flavor to be exotic, sweet, and fragrant. Instead the texture and flavor was closer to a radish… I tried to eat more than a single piece but it didn’t happen. So, if you happen to see dragonfruit, I would buy them as decoration and that’s it.

The uniq fruit on the other hand… I wish I had bought the whole cartload of them! It’s like any citrus we’re familiar with in the States. It’s not acidic or sharp like most oranges. The flavor is quiet, sweet and fragrant. Light and simply refreshing. So, should you see one, I absolutely encourage you to buy it! It was delicious!