Moving Muffins

Back in January, one of Husband’s best friends moved into a new apartment back in Philly over MLK weekend.  Since it was during Husband’s two-week vacation, he was able to go up and assist with the move.  Since our lab always has lab meetings on Monday, regardless of national holidays, I was not able to go, but instead, baked two dozen muffins to provide breakfast for Husband and his friends who would be assisting with the moving.

I just remembered this because this was the first weekend that I returned up to Philly since his friend moved.  We were going to go visit his new place so that I could see it… but instead wound up visiting him in his parents’ house… because they have the 58” plasma TV… all the better for NCAA March Madness viewing.  Because who doesn’t want to watch their team heart-wrenchingly lose in the last 0.5 seconds in giant, HD, plasmay goodness?  Especially when you are the lone Pitt fan, surrounded by a bunch of Villanova “fans”?  (As soon as my mother, a proud Pitt alumna, found out that Husband, with absolutely NO connection to Villanova aside from the fact that he is from Philadelphia [but has no family members, friends, etc. who went there] supported Villanova in the Pitt-Villanova game, she immediately started flooding my inbox with contact information for divorce lawyers.)  Suffice to say, it was an extremely rough night for the Disgruntled marriage… and next time this particular friend moves, there will be no Moving Muffins made for him, if he’s going to cheer against the Panthers!

Dark Chocolate Muffins

Ingredients:

• 5 oz dark chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chocolate chunks

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
2. In a small, microwaveable-safe bowl, melt together butter and chopped dark chocolate.  Heat in 30 second intervals, stirring frequently until smooth.  Set aside to cool slightly.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Make a well in the center and add eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla extract.  Whisk until almost smooth.  Stir in melted chocolate mixture, making sure the batter is smooth and the chocolate is evenly incorporated, followed by chocolate chips.
4. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
5. Cool muffins on a wire rack before serving.  Store in an airtight container if not eating immediately.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
• 1/2 cup peanut butter (crunchy or smooth)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F.  Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and brown sugar.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, peanut butter, eggs, and milk until smooth.  Pour into flour mixture and stir until just combined.  Stir in chocolate chips.
4. Divide batter into paper-lined muffin tin.  Each cup should be filled to the top to ensure muffins have a nice dome.
5. Bake for 17-20 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean and the top of the muffin springs back when lightly pressed.
6. Cool on a wire rack.

WARNING! THIS IS AN EMERGENCY!

This morning, my PI declared that I needed to do “emergency CD”.

Quick!  Somebody sound the biochemistry emergency siren!  This is not a drill!  This is an emergency!  A CIRCULAR DICHROISM emergency! 
WOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooo!  
This is not a drill!  This is an emergency!  Biochemistry emergency!  Proceed to preassigned emergency station!

Now, I understood his point.  In light of the ugly CD data I generated earlier in the week, I tried dialyzing out the EDTA, but (much like what happens with other attempts to dialyze the protein, when it chooses not to precipitate) running on a gel afterward resulted in no visible protein in the post-dialysis lane in comparison to the pre-dialysis lane.   Not one to ever be discouraged by something like the inability to see protein stained on a coomassie gel, he declared that I immediately had to hop on and see if I could get a spectrum before I left, because the protein degrades so quickly that it would no longer be worthwhile by the time I returned at the end of the weekend.  Hence, the “emergency” situation.

While everyone else in the lab snickered at the thought that circular dichroism had suddenly become an emergency, my PI stood behind me while I called up the Chair of Biochemistry to see if if the spectropolarimeter was available for my use (seeing as how I am pretty much the only one doing CD, the bigger question is always if I can track down the Chair to get the key to the room). 

While I was doing the “emergency” CD, I was once again GChatting with said Best Friend who sent the previously posted Calvin & Hobbes cartoon, relaying the story of my morning “emergency.”  He asked if biochemists had a universal distress signal – you know, shining a double helix in the air, like a Batman signal.  Once Operation Emergency CD was complete, all units were given the clear to stand down, and thankfully no one (aside from the nitrogen tanks) were required to shelter in place.  As I was about to sign off, Best Friend referred to me by my apparent new Superhero name…. CD-Woman.

So, if you happen to see someone dashing to your neighborhood spectropolarimeter, ice bucket in one hand, 1mm cell and pipette in the other, wearing a lab coat and undies on the outside (because naturally, that is the mark of a true superhero)… wish me luck.  I’m off to save the world from another circular dichroism emergency situation.

Where everybody knows your name…

For some people, it’s a bar.  For me, apparently it’s the Department of Physical Therapy.

As you may recall, I had a somewhat large-ish billing disaster with physical therapy which resulted in a $4500 bill sent to me.  I finally received word that the problem was in the final stage of resolution (I’ll believe it when I see it), and, in the meantime, my insurance company had cleared me to continue with more physical therapy.  So, I went ahead and scheduled my appointment, and today was my first day back.

I was barely the full way through the door to the PT department when the office staff literally stopped what they were doing – ignored the people they were helping, paused mid-conversation on the phone – and from all sides of the reception desks, all I heard were greetings in surround-sound.  “Julie! You’re back!”  “I couldn’t wait to see you when I saw your name on the appointment list!”  “Heeey girlfriend, it is so good to see you!” “Oh, Julie, you come right over here and I’ll take care of all your paperwork to get everything in order again” (much to the dismay of people already waiting in line).  It’s like I’m a minor celebrity in the world of University Hospital physical therapy.

I mean, it makes sense.  Most people who are sent for PT go for 8 weeks or so pre- or post-surgery.  They’re in and out, and it’s a constant turnover of patients.  The type of therapy I go for is different – much more long term – but most of my therapist’s patients even still seem to be in and out in 5-6 months.  I started up last March, and have no signs of being anywhere near finished.  I’m here to stay.  So for someone to show up, week after week, for over a year – that’s a rarity. 

Look, don’t get me wrong.  It’s nice to be known and missed.  It gives you that warm, fuzzy feeling.  But when the place where everybody knows your name is the physical therapy department… well… perhaps it’s a sign that you need to get out more.

Or maybe that you’re just a bit too broken beyond repair.

Bang Head Here

Today, I needed this hung on the wall next to my lab bench:

I’ll spare you all the moany, groany, whiney in-depth details, but suffice to say, my World’s Worst Protein is, once again, living up to it’s uncooperative title. I have spent the past 5 months trying to move forward with circular dichroism by dialyzing out the imidazole following elution (unsuccessful – always precipitates), dropping the pH (unsuccessful, still precipitates, and dropping it too low unfolds what has been refolded) and attempting to elute with EDTA. Finally (finally!) I was able to get the protein a) pure enough, b) refolded on the column, and c) off the column with EDTA, and today was the big reveal.

Suffice to say from the previous “Bang Head Here”, you can probably guess that rather than a chorus of angels descending from the heavens singing as a beautiful spectrum appeared as the result of all my hard work, thereby bringing me one step closer to maybe, possibly, potentially, someday graduating… I got an ugly bunch of sharp zig-zagging lines, because the amount of EDTA it takes to get my protein off the column apparently causes significant light scattering. Damn.

Nothing like watching 5 months of work unravel in 2 minutes. Bang head here, indeed.

Of course, while watching my spectra unfold in real-time, I happened to be Google Chatting with my best friend, which may have involved some explicit language and a pity-party for one regarding my inability to get just one decent looking spectra for Protein X. Within 3 seconds of the use of my word “spectra”, the followed magically appeared in my inbox from said best friend:

Yes, the “spectra” in reference is totally different, but the theory is the same. Learn more about the structure of the protein, and get a publication… and, while I can’t say it’s in my short-term plan like Calvin, I certainly wouldn’t turn down the Nobel Prize, the “get rich” money, or the talk show invitations. But Hobbes, I hate to break it to you – I don’t think scientists get too many babes.

P.S. Dear Protein, I hate you.

Shepherd’s Pie

While I’ve classically heard shepherd’s pie as the name for the dish regardless of what goes in, I know there is some debate – some individuals like to define it based on the type of meat.  Shepherd’s pie contains lamb, cottage pie contains beef, and tonight Google informed me that what I eat would technically be considered a shepherdess pie, as it contains no meat at all.  But whatever you call it, and whatever you include, it’s a tasty way to clear out the vegetable drawer at the end of the week.

I’ve included my standard vegetables that I typically add in (measurements are an estimate – I just use what I have on hand; if it is out of season, I’ll use a whole can of diced tomatoes in lieu of chopping a fresh tomato, etc.), but what I love is that you can subtract, or add in, whatever vegetables you see fit.  Don’t like green beans?  Leave them out.  Have some celery and mushrooms nearing the end?  Chop them up and toss them in.  If your vegetable:meat ratio is too high, the final product may not hold its shape particularly well at the end (this happens to me frequently, as I love to stuff mine full of vegetables), but who cares?  Unless company is coming, I cook for taste, not for appearances.  And the more vegetables I can sneak into Husband without him noticing… the better!

Shepherd’s Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 pound ground beef, lamb, or vegetarian soy crumbles
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup green beans
• 1 cup tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 cup carrots, chopped
• 1 cup peas
• 2 potatoes, boiled (I leave them unpeeled) and smashed (salt and pepper to taste)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Coat a 2-quart casserole dish with cooking spray.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Cook onion in oil for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.  Stir in the meat/non-meat substitute and basil and cook for 5 more minutes.  Mix in the garlic, green beans, tomatoes, carrots, and peas, and simmer for 5 minutes.  Transfer mixture to prepared dish.
3. In a mixing bowl, mix together the mashed potatoes, egg, and milk.  Spread evenly over meat mixture.
4. Bake in a preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until potatoes start to brown on top.  Sprinkle with cheese and continue cooking for 5 minutes.

Good Luck, 4th Years!

Best of luck to all the 4th year medical students out there, like our very own Mudphudder, who find out where they matched for residency tomorrow.  I spent my evening calling and emailing my list of friends in the match; my husband invited a friend of his from elementary school who is now a 4th year here at our university over for lunch and video games to help take his mind off of the big day tomorrow.  It’s quite nerve-wracking that so many years of your life are determined by what is written on a slip of paper, which everyone opens simultaneously across the country at noon (EST)… so drop by and wish Mudphudder good luck!

Husband’s friend tries to use window light to read through his envelope… with no success

It’s hard to believe that it has been only a year since Husband matched, and how our thoughts have completely reversed.  As much as I knew going into it that he would likely not match in D.C. (he didn’t think he had a good shot to match in programs in the D.C. area because they were too competitive, so he did not rank them at the top), opening the envelope and seeing with 100% certainty that he would be moving away for sure was still so disappointing, and it was really challenging for me to see him so happy and call everyone and talk about how thrilled he was to be moving back to Philadelphia and how he couldn’t wait to move “home” to be with his “family” – I kind of wanted to punch him in the face and point out that while we may not be blood related, you really can’t get much more FAMILY than your wife, and moving to Philadelphia means he was moving AWAY from the person who was legally defined as his most immediate family member.  But I also understood that for him, it was exciting to be moving on from medical school and furthering his career and that the long-distance marriage was the furthest thing from his mind, so I kept my mouth shut and plastered on a fake smile for the day.

But, because I faced what was coming, I have also very much come to terms with the fact that in two months, he will be moving away.  And you know what?  It’s okay.  Yes, it will be hard.  With our schedules and working weekends, it’s not going to be the type of long-distance marriage where we can see each other every weekend – our goal is one weekend a month… and that’s not a lot, but over the past nine months, I’ve had plenty of time to prepare.  Husband, on the other hand, was so focused on how much he hated his intern year and couldn’t wait to start his actual residency and move “home” that he seemed to totally forget that I wouldn’t be going with him.  One day, out of the blue, it was like it just hit him, and he broke down in tears, and now the tune has changed to one of not wanting June to come, because it means he has to leave.  Sadly, he is learning that in life, you cannot always have your cake, and eat it too.

What a difference a year makes.

Free Gifts!

Recently, Anne over at Elizabeth Anne Designs Living started up a bit of a “craft-it-forward” handmade giveaway.  As I will be receiving something from her, I’m following up my end of the bargain, and offering something up to you.

Here is the fine print:

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! This offer does have some restrictions and limitations so please read carefully:

• I make no guarantees that you will like what I make but I will do my best.
• It will be done in the next couple months (possibly longer on my behalf…. research does come first, after all)
• You have no clue what it’s going to be - that’s the fun part!

It could be artwork, handmade stationary personalized for you, baked goods from my kitchen, or something crocheted or knitted. What will it be? You’ll have to wait and see! I reserve the right to do something completely bizarre or completely normal.

Here’s the fine print:
In return, all you need to do is post this text into a note of your own and make 5 things for 5 others. What could be more fun!  Some ideas you could do for others: artwork, CD’s, Burn a DVD, write a poem, crochet a scarf, make a mini book, send a photograph (a printed one, not e-mailed. etc…).

If you are interested, leave a comment below with your email address (if you don’t have a blog-based email address and are not comfortable leaving your personal email address, you can also email me at ethidiumbromide (at) gmail (dot) com. 

If more than 5 people are interested… well… go ahead and comment anyway.  I can’t promise… but maybe later on in the year if friends, family, and coworkers stop reproducing and the baby blanket sweatshop that is my living room can close for a few months and I have a lull in crafting projects, you just might find me knocking on your digital doorstep asking if you’d still like a little gift!

Peanut Butter “Pi”

You did know that I was going to post a recipe for pie on Pi Day, right?  What else would you expect from someone who minored in math?

In the interest of full disclosure, I did not make this pie today.  I did not bake a pie at all today.  I spent an extremely frustrating 15 and a half hours in the lab, and Husband worked a 10 hour ER shift.  A nice, leisurely, pie-baking Saturday it was not.  But, I happened to have an unposted pie recipe waiting in the wings, and there is no better time to post it.  (I did, however, come home from lab so late and grumpy that I just picked up dinner from Whole Foods, and Husband told me to buy a little pie from the bakery.  So, in honor of Pi Day, we split half a mini blueberry pie.)

This is a great recipe because it is so quick to make.  I made this for a dinner a friend was hosting on a weekend evening, but once again, I wound up spending a full day working in the lab, and had just enough time to shower and throw this together between rushing in the door from lab and back out the door to dinner.  Since the pie was consumed in the presence of other people, there are no cross-sectional images (sorry, but my food picture-taking nerdiness does not carry over to photographing in the presence of others), but I assure you, it was very well received.  And, I even made it in my very own “pi” plate – a gift from my mother, who could not fathom that anyone with her genes was actually capable of minoring in math.

Peanut Butter Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups finely crushed oreos (about 15 whole oreos or other sandwich cookies)
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 12 ounces frozen whipped topping
• 1 (12 ounce) jar hot fudge
• additional oreos, Reeces pieces, or peanut butter cups for topping

Directions:

1. Prepare cookie crust.  Generously butter a 9” pie plate.  In a large bowl, stir together the cookie crumbs and the melted butter.  Using fingertips, firmly and evenly press the mixture into the bottom and sides of the pie plate.
2. Beat peanut butter, sugar, and cream cheese together in a large bowl.  Gently fold in 3 cups of whipped topping.  Add mixture to cookie crust and spread to edges.
3. Heat hot fudge in microwave for one minute.  Stir and spread over peanut butter layer.
4. Refrigerate until serving, at least one hour.
5. Before serving, spread remaining remaining whipped topping over fudge layer.  Top with oreo cookies, Reeces pieces, or peanut butter cups.

Interview with ScientistMother

A little while ago, I was “interviewed” by ScientistMother. She got to ask me any 5 questions, so here goes!

1. Do you ever get annoyed at husbands inability to cook / learn to cook?
On a regular, typical day when we are both working – no. I cook, he cleans the kitchen afterward; we both contribute, so that’s what matters. But the question is if I ever get annoyed, and the answer to that would be yes. The occasional time when Husband is off – be it during his two weeks of vacation he had in January when he was completely off, or the occasional clinic month when he works very few hours, or the beginning of next week when he has a break in ER shifts and will not be working Monday – Wednesday – but I continue to go into the lab, I find it frustrating that he refuses to help out at all in the kitchen. When he is pulling long hours, I offer to clean the kitchen and help him out, so it always makes me sad that even when I do ask for help with dinner, he won’t pull through. Now, in all fairness, he will do basic things – like, if I call ahead of time and ask him to take something out of the freezer to defrost it, or put a pot of water on the stove to boil it, he will do that, but he absolutely, positive, will not cook an actual meal. If I’m really going to be home late and beg and plead, he gives me two options – oatmeal, or peanut butter and jelly. And he flat out refuses to try to learn to cook. I am legitimately concerned when we eventually have children that if I am not home every night at dinner time, they will either starve to death, or wind up 200 pounds before their 10th birthday because they will be eating pizza and fast food 3 meals/day.

2. Do you regret starting your PhD?
I think the answer to this question changes on a daily basis. As I eluded to earlier, there was some pretty ugly things that went down previously, and for about a three week period, I really, truly, absolutely regretted getting involved, but even then, I cannot say that I regret the Ph.D. in particular, because I could have a completely different experience in a different lab at a different university. I do, in all honesty, think that there are other things that would make me happier… but I don’t know if I would feel as passionate about them as I do about science. Day in and day out, what I do frustrates me, annoys me, and I often don’t like it…. but talking about the big picture of what I am doing truly EXCITES me. I can’t think of any other field that would spark that kind of emotion.

3. What would you be doing if you didn't go into science?
I would probably be in law school… ever since I was a wee three years of age, everyone I know declared that I was going to go to law school (I was an opinionated, argumentative, logical tot). Throughout junior high and high school, all my non-science teachers pushed me towards law school, but (unfortunately perhaps?) the science teachers latched on and pushed harder, and the guilt set in – they made me feel like it was my obligation to society to go into research. Honestly, though don’t tell my PI as I am kind of afraid to bring it up and admit it, I’m still considering going to law school when I am done with graduate school and going into biotech patent law – Husband would be SO happy (it’s what he’s said I should do from the day I met him, AND it would make us just like the Huckstables, with him as a doctor and me as a lawyer, so it would be like his dream come true).

4. What would a perfect dinner be?
This is a surprisingly tough question – as much as I cook, I honestly don’t really like food all that much. I tend to get bored with it very quickly; a few bites of something, and I’m generally over it. Plus, the migraine medication I am on now makes my tongue feel like it is coated with chalk, so everything tastes relatively repulsive. Because I tire of food quickly, my favorite style of food is tapas – I love the idea of lots of little plates – so my two favorite restaurants in D.C. are Jaleo (Spanish tapas) and Zaytinya (Greek/Mediterranean tapas), both restaurants of José Andrés. So I suppose a perfect dinner for me would be anything prepared by José Andrés!
As far as something I make myself, my absolutely most favorite dinner I could possibly make for myself would include crab-stuffed mushrooms, cheddar cheese risotto, steamed asparagus, and roasted pearl onions. Unfortunately for me, my husband isn’t crazy about the crab-stuffed mushrooms, LOATHES asparagus (his least favorite vegetable and my favorite; he has banned them from our household), and will not eat onions on their own, they have to be mixed in with something. So, my perfect dinner likely will not happen in reality – or perhaps, once Husband moves away, I’ll splurge and make myself a huge feast one night!

5. If you could invite any person (living or dead) for dinner, who would you invite?
Martha Stewart. But first, I’d need to find a way to magically drain her brain of all her crafty ideas to steal for myself, because THAT is really what I want to do for a living – build an entire empire based off of crafting, cooking, gardening, and entertaining. I would drop science in a hot second to do what she does (minus that whole insider trading snafu). Perhaps I’d call my brand “The Social Scientist.”

That’s it, folks. Thanks to ScientistMother for the interview, and if anyone would like me to ask you a few questions of my own, just leave a comment, and I’ll be sure to think up some fun questions for you!

Happy Hamentashen

Since this was never intended to be, and never will be, a food blog, I only post recipes on the weekend (that is, when I’m not taking a break from blogging in general). Since I cook seven days a week, this obviously means that I’m generating a huge back-log of recipes and associated pictures waiting to be posted, so when I do put a recipe up, often it is something which I made weeks, or even months, previously. Today, however, this is quite literally hot out of the oven, in the event any of you are inspired to do any holiday baking of your own.

Sundown tomorrow marks the start of Purim, which celebrates the story of Esther, in which the Jews escaped from evil Haman’s plot of annihilation. Purim is a festival – whenever Hamen’s name is mentioned during the reading of the Megillah, everyone boos and hisses and shakes gragers (noisemakers). Children dress up in costumes, playing off of the theme that Esther hid her own cultural identity from the king. But the BEST part of Purim by far? The hamentashen.

On Purim, we eat Hamentashen and sing a little song about them (My hat, it has three corners\ Three corners has my hat\ And if it has not three corners\ It would not be my hat). Hamentashen are made in a triangular shape as a reference to the supposedly triangular shaped hat that Hamen wore. Why we eat his hat in particular, I am not sure, but it doesn’t matter to me, because hamentashen are, by far, my absolute, most definite, favorite cookie/pastry/cakey type dessert. The sugary dough combined with the fruity filling is an absolute perfect pairing. Many bakeries now serve hamentashen year-round (and under a different name, deviating from their Jewish Purim tradition), but as I associate them back to their native roots, I only eat them at Purim. When you only make your favorite dessert once a year, you feel far less guilty eating 2 or 3… or 6.

Traditionally, a hamentash is filled with poppyseed, prune, or apricot filling, though my personal favorites are raspberry or cherry filling. This year, I asked my husband what his preference for filling was, and requested apple. I have never, in my life, heard of an apple humentash, but by special request, I made three batches of hamentashen, and filled mine with cherry, apple, and apricot preserves. I made over 6 dozen today, so I have batches boxed up and ready to ship out tomorrow to family, some ready to take to the lab, send off with my husband for his co-workers in the ER, and one sitting out for me for breakfast. Honestly, is there a better way to start a Monday morning than with a cherry hamentash? I thought not.

Julie’s Most Favoriteist Hamentashen

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup margarine (margarine is necessary for a kosher recipe; otherwise butter can be used)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• few drops water
• preserves of choice (apricot, poppy, raspberry, cherry pie filling, etc)

Directions:

1. Cream margarine in mixer bowl. Add sugar and beat until fluffy.
2. Beat in egg, lemon zest, and vanilla.
3. Add in flour and salt. Beat in water a few drops at a time, until dough just starts to come away from the sides of the bowl.
4. Place dough in a 2-quart size bag and form into a flat disk. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours or overnight.
5. Roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface.
6. Using a round cookie cutter or the top of a glass, cut out circles. Spoon a small amount of filling (2-3 cherries) onto the dough circles. Fold over one edge of the dough, then a second edge, and finally a third edge to create a triangle. This works far better than the “pinching” method, if you have tried to make hamentashen in the past – pinching the corners often results in the dough collapsing while baking, yielding grossly malformed (though still delicious) hamentashen. Try the folding method instead – it works much better. Trust me. Repeat this process with the remaining dough.
7. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
8. Bake at 350F for 12 to 15 minutes, or just until starting to turn a pale golden color

racks upon racks of pure deliciousness

Ph.D. in Cosby-ology?

Since Bill Cosby was born and raised in Philadelphia, my husband immediately jumped on The Cosby Show bandwagon as a child (I don’t understand the instant appeal, but somehow, if it has anything to do with Philadelphia, no matter what it is, it automatically means that it is amazing and wonderful and fantastic according to my husband).  I’m not entirely sure under what rock I was hiding between the years 1984 (okay fine, I was a mere 6 months old when the show first aired) through 1992, but I never once saw a single episode throughout my entire childhood, a fact which appalls my husband.  Feeling the need to remedy this situation, every time I am home between the hours of 4pm – 5pm from now on, he ties me down to the couch, and forces me to watch reruns on our local WGN station.

As I’ve been home sick with a high fever all week, and my husband is working 10 hour block ER shifts which currently happen to leave him at home in mid-afternoon (thus meaning he is around to play King of the Remote at 4pm), it’s been 4:00 Cosby Hour all week.  Today, while rolling my eyes at some situation (or perhaps at Dr. Huxtable’s ridiculous sweater-of-the-day), Husband told me I shouldn’t make fun of someone who had worked just as hard as me educationally, since Bill Cosby has a Ph.D.

I tried to call him out on this, because I had heard that Bill Cosby had failed out of high school.  A Google-search revealed that he actually has his Ed.D., and the title of his thesis was:

An Integration of the Visual Media Via "Fat Albert And The Cosby Kids" Into the Elementary School Curriculum as a Teaching Aid and Vehicle to Achieve Increased Learning

Yes, Husband, yes.  I am quite sure that Dr. Cosby has worked every bit as hard as I have in his educational pursuits.  Now, how can I work my week of laying on the couch watching The Cosby Show into my dissertation?

Unexplained Disappearance

As an undergrad, my roommate and I always had a little plan – if one of us wouldn’t be home by a certain time in the evening, we would call or email or text the other, just to let the other know that everything was fine. It was always reassuring to know that someone was always aware of my whereabouts and that if something happened to me, someone would know to be concerned. Having a blog with wonderfully loyal readers is much the same way – I can’t fall off the radar for too long without receiving emails, comments, Twitter messages, and (for those of you who have figured out my real identity) Facebook messages questioning where I have gone over the past 2 weeks. It’s nice to know that when you fall off the internets, people notice that too.

In all honestly, I just needed a break from life. I’ve been dealing with a really rather ugly situation over here – something that I’m not going to get into detail on the blog, because I’m not anonymous enough, and I don’t want it to come back and bite me in the tush someday. But, suffice to say, it’s left me questioning everything, trusting no one, and downright miserable. For those of you who did realize that something was wrong and contacted me regarding the situation, your concern and advice has been appreciated more than I could possibly put into words. At this point, I’ve just had to accept that there is honestly nothing I can do, the situation is out of my hands, shit happens, and that’s that. I can’t change the situation anymore, but I can vow to never do to someone else what has been done to me, and thus feel like I am making a difference that way.

And so, knowing that I couldn’t improve the situation, I just gave myself time to be angry. I gave myself two weeks to be angry and throw myself a pity party, and after two weeks, then it was time to clean up my act and move on with life. I’ve worked too hard and put too many years into this to let my anger or disappointment in others get the best of me.

I took a break from blogging, and for about a week in there, reading blogs altogether. I tried to catch up, but faced with over 1500 unread items in my Google Reader, I just gave up, and clicked the “Mark All As Read.” If I missed anything huge of yours, I do truly apologize – I feel like I’ve deserted friends. I’ve tried to be better this past week, but the week before was kind of a lost cause. I had too many other things with which to deal, and the whole blogosphere just seemed so extremely… insignificant all of a sudden, and I just needed to take a break and think about the best way to deal with my own situation. So, a break I took, but after a two week hiatus, here I am.