Asparagus and Walnut Pasta

One of the advantages to long-distance marriage is that I’ve been working my way through the massive list of recipe ideas which include ingredients I love, but Husband hates. This was an excellent candidate, as asparagus is my favorite vegetable and Husband refuses to eat it… and walnut are my favorite nuts, whie Husband is not a nut fan in general (unless they are in the form of peanut butter). Unfortunately for Husband, I think I liked this enough that it’s going to stay in the rotation even when we are living together again – good thing he knows how to make peanut butter and jelly!

Asparagus and Walnut Pasta

Ingredients:

• 1 pound whole wheat rigatoni
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3/4 pound asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup grated Asiago cheese
• 1/3 cup lightly toasted walnuts, chopped

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to directions. Drain well.
2. Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add asparagus and cook for 1 minute. Add green onions and garlic and cook 3 to 4 minutes more.
3. Add cooked pasta to skillet, then stir in cheese and walnuts.

Nanaimo Bars – Daring Bakers

The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca.

I couldn’t think of a more appropriate dessert to make right now, considering the Olympics are just around the corner.  For those of you who are not familiar with Nanaimo Bars, they hail from Nanaimo, British Columbia, and are more or less the official dessert of BC.  Seriously, they are everywhere.

That said, I already knew off the bat that I have an extremely strong dislike for Nanaimo bars.  I really enjoyed this challenge, however, because it allowed me to pinpoint exactly why I detest them so much.  The middle layer is always described as a “custard”… which I think of as kind of a thick pastry cream or pudding.  I like custard.  I do not, however, like the “custard” layer AT ALL.  Now that I’ve made it, I realize that it’s hardly a custard, but more of a glorified buttercream… and I loathe frosting.  Seriously, hate it.  That nauseatingly sweet, tooth-dissolving flavor and texture is a HUGE turn off for me.  But please, don’t let MY dislike of Nanaimo Bars turn you off.  A simple test – if you savor the frosting on your cupcake and save it to the very end, make these – fast!  If, like me, you try to wipe off every last drop and still wind up throwing out half of the cake because it is too “tainted” with frosting…. well, just make these for your Olympic opening ceremonies party, but pass on trying one out yourself. :)

The first part of the challenge was to make homemade graham crackers.  I opted to pass on the gluten free version, not because I am opposed to gluten free baking, but I am making an extreme effort to cut down on groceries, and by making these with regular all-purpose flour, I already had all the ingredients on hand.  I rolled out my dough on the thicker side, and LOVED the results.  Instead of crunchy like a normal graham cracker, it had the exact same flavor, but was soft, similar to the difference between a gingerbread cookie and actual gingerbread.  I liked these so much that I’m not sure if I’ll ever buy another packaged thin crispy graham cracker again!

 

Graham Crackers

Ingredients:

• 2.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 7 tablespoons butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1/3 cup honey
• 5 tablespoons milk
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt.  Add the cubed butter and cut in until the mixture forms a coarse meal.
2. Whisk together honey, milk, and vanilla.  Add to the flour mixture until the dough barely comes together.
3. Turn the dough onto plastic wrap and chill until firm, 2 hours or overnight.
4. Sift a layer of flour on the work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle (depending on the size of your work surface, you may want to divide into two balls of dough), about 1/8 inch thick (mine were 1/4 inch think).  Cut into 4 by 4 inch squares.  Move to parchment-lined baking sheets and prick surface with a fork.
5. Bake for 12 minutes at 350F, or until golden brown in color.

 

Nanaimo Bars

Ingredients:

• For Bottom Layer:
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 1/2 cup almonds, finely chopped
  • 1 cup shredded coconut
• For Middle Layer:
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons vanilla custard powder or vanilla pudding mix
  • 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
• For Top Layer:
  • 4 ounce semi-sweet chocolate
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions:

1. Melt unsalted butter, sugar, and cocoa in the top of a double boiler.  Add egg and stir to cook and thicken.  Remove from heat.  Stir in graham cracker crumbs, nuts, and coconut.  Press firmly into an ungreased 8x8 inch pan.
2. Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and confectioner’s sugar together.  Beat until light in color.  Spread over bottom layer.
3. Melt chocolate and unsalted butter over low heat.  Once cool, pour over middle layer and chill.

Competition Results

So… long story short… I did not win the camera bag.  But, honestly, I can’t really sit around feeling sorry for myself when I had such a HUGE outpouring of support from a whole bunch of people I don’t even “know”!  Numerous individuals re-tweeted my message, asking their friends to vote for me as well.  Several of you posted on your own blogs asking your readers to vote for me.  Geeka even made all her lab minions vote for me throughout the day – and who doesn’t love a little abuse of power?!  Really, you all are amazing!

I initially offered up a hand-knit scarf and batch of cookies to four individuals if I won.  I can’t, however, just let this go without showing my appreciate.  Instead, I’ve decided to randomly select 5 individuals… and send you either a scarf or cookies (your choice).  I went ahead and entered all the names and number of times you said you voted into a big old spreadsheet (and those of you who submitted numerous votes without entering just to vote out of the goodness of your hearts – super big thanks to you too!!), and went on over to random.org and let it chose the numbers.

These numbers correspond to…

Josie
The History Enthusiast
Psych Post Doc
Costing Anon
thesciencegirl

If that’s you, send me an email (link is on the menu bar under ‘contact’), let me know if you’d like either a scarf or cookies, and I’ll be in touch to get the details!

Winners have until January 31st to claim their prize; otherwise, I’ll re-draw a new name.

Big hugs to everyone who voted!

BIG, HUGE Favor!

Remember just a few weeks ago when I posted about the new camera bag for which I was lusting? I mean, seriously, seriously drooling? But cannot purchase for myself because Husband is desperate to pay off his mega-medical school debt ASAP?

Well, I’ve entered to win one. And I need your help.

See, here’s the thing. There are a ton of entries. Literally, hundreds. Two winners, who acquire the most votes, will receive a brand new gorgeous camera bag. My poor Canon, carelessly shoved into tote bags, overnight bags, and carry on suitcases, is quivering in delight at the thought of a proper home.

There’s a lot of people trying to win this bag, so this is where I shamelessly beg for your vote.

To vote, go here, scroll down to the first poll, and vote for me -- #95. (You can detour and read my resolution first if you so desire… I think it’s a good one!). And, per the rules, you can vote as many times as you want. Which means after you vote, you just click on “Return to Poll” and click on 95 again, if you so desire. You can vote as many times as you want between right now and noon (CST) Friday, January 8th.

I wish I could offer some amazing reward for voting for me, like a hefty gift card to Banana Republic. Since the reason I am trying to win the bag is because I cannot afford to purchase the bag… that would be rather contradictory. But what I can do is make things… specifically, warm cozy knitted things and tasty baked goods things. So, if you vote for me, comment on this post for each time you vote (honor system) and if I win, I will randomly choose 4 individuals and make you a custom scarf and a batch of cookies. Vote for me 30 times, have 30 chances to win. Of course, if you simultaneously happen to be a knitter and have an overload of scarves AND are anti-cookies, you can just vote out of the goodness of your heart without having to enter. (And, even if I don’t win, I am sure I will randomly select a few individuals to thank you anyway!).

Thank you, thank you, thank you, from your favorite poor disgruntled graduate student.

(Note: Due to shipping costs, I will send a scarf anywhere in the world, but only those in the continental US will receive cookies.)

2009: A (Personal) Year in Review

Yeah, yeah.  I know.  Everyone is already over the whole new year thing, and the train has already left the station.  But, suffice to say,  the end of 2009 and start of 2010 has been a bit… less that desirable, and I am running a bit behind here.  December was plagued with no electricity, followed by a plumbing valve issue in which,  no joke, my toilet started spewing soapy water like a geyser (that was a fun one to clean up), and of course, leaving me without water for 2 days while the condo plumbing was searched for problems.  Then, my laptop bit the dust (it had been having problems, so fortunately everything except my Lightroom custom presets were backed up)… and this week, my desktop decided to stop connecting to the internet.  And today was the icing on the cake – received a call from the condo manager that water was leaking from my unit into the basement.  He searched our bathroom and couldn’t find any problems from this end, but tomorrow they are turning off all the water to the building and tearing out drywall to see if they can locate a problem.  Awesome.

So, that said, things are running a little behind.  Here is my belated personal year in review – later this week, I’ll do a lab (lack of) progress year in review!

January 2009:

Every year, the best part about January was attending the Pennsylvania State Farm Show – a giant indoor affair in which farmers from across the state bring their prize livestock, tractors, and produce for competition.  The Farm Show Arena is mere miles from my house, so despite the traditional “Farm Show Blizzard” we would always make the trek to visit the animals and eat the amazing food (personal favorites include fried mushrooms, mushroom soup, vanilla milkshake, and potato doughnuts).  This year, we took Husband for his first farm show!

 

We also braved the crowds and the cold and went to the Inauguration.  When you live in walking distance, how can you not go?

February 2009:

The beginning of February brought the Superbowl… and with it, a sixth Lombardi trophy for the Steelers.  So maybe we didn’t even make the playoffs this year… but at least we are still Sixburgh!  To celebrate the occasion, I threw a big Superbowl party…. complete with the amazing edible stadium.

March 2009:

In March, Husband and I, along with another friend, took a tour of the Naval Observatory.  It had been on my to-do list for quite a while, but tours are only offered a few Monday’s a year, so it’s something that needs to be scheduled far in advance.  We were all far more impressed than we thought we would be, and it was a crystal clear night, so they even broke out the gigantic telescope so we could check out Jupiter.  If you are in the DC area, I highly recommend checking out the Naval Observatory!

   

April 2009:

By the time April rolled around, Preppy Chemist had moved up to D.C. and was settling in, so I offered to take her on a cherry blossom monument tour.   Preppy Chemist moving up to D.C. was definitely one of the highlights of 2009 – someone who started as a casual blogging acquaintance has rapidly turned into one of my closest friends in DC!

May 2009:

In May, Husband and I attended two weddings in one day, on the weekend of our own anniversary.  It was quite a whirlwind, but we were thrilled to be able to attend both weddings!

First up, Husband’s friend from medical school was married in a nearby church and had a reception on a rooftop with a beautiful view of the Capitol!

 

Then in the evening, we attended the reception of our college roommates.  I lived with the bride and Husband lived with the groom the year they started dating, so I feel like I’ve been through their whole relationship, too!

And, of course, we celebrated our first anniversary!  Even though it fell on Memorial Day, we both had to work, but we were able to take some time out to go to a dinner at Bourbon Steak and have a few bites of our wedding cake afterward.

June 2009:

The end of May meant VACATION!  We spent 10 days through May and June traveling to Husband’s uncle’s house in Myrtle Beach, where we relaxed on the beach, took a day trip to Charleston, and visited my best friend on the way down and a good friend of ours from undergrad on the way back up.  The trip was a little bittersweet, though – as soon as we returned, Husband moved to Philadelphia for the rest of his radiology residency.  June was kind of the low point of the year – along with Husband, two of my closest friends from D.C. also moved away, and I was left without my husband and my girlfriends.

   

On the upside, the Penguins won the Stanley Cup and we spent a weekend back in my hometown for the Harrisburg Brewer’s Fest – aka “drinking for charity”!  Every year, downtown Harrisburg sponsors a big festival, closes off a few streets, and dozens and dozens of breweries show up with kegs upon kegs.  The proceeds go to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and we spent the evening drinking lots of beer!  My two best friends from home came as well, and we had a great time.

July 2009:

July was a really uneventful month.  I started the first of what will be many Greyhound disastrous trips to Philadelphia, but mostly I used my newfound free time to crank out more experiments in the lab.

August 2009:

August started out with the family concert – Husband, my Mother-in-Law, my parents, and I all went to the Billy Joel/Elton John concert in Philadelphia.  It was the first time our parents were together since the wedding, and it was nice to have everyone together. 

The lab also went berry picking at a local farm, kicking off an entire week of blackberry related recipes.  Mmmm…

September 2009:

September was also a relatively unremarkable month, mostly due to two weeks with swine flu.  I also had a biopsy done on a “totally healthy, normal mole” which I thought was the end of the story.  I did, however, return home over Labor Day, and was able to hang out with two of my favorite people!

October 2009:

Husband and I took a trip up to NYC to visit an old high school friend of his.  We spent the morning walking around Chelsea Market (home of the Food Network!) and Central Park, and then met his friend at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

I also received news that the biopsy returned as melanoma in situ and would have to undergo more surgery to try to remove all the cancer cells before they spread.  26 years of avoiding the sun and always applying sunscreen… and my reward is melanoma.  Harumph.

November 2009:

November was the busiest month of the year… in a great way!  I was barely in lab (two thumbs up) because I spent 10 days in the Caribbean, came home for a night to do laundry, and was then off to Boston for my first conference (details to come).

  

December 2009:

The month started off with my melanoma surgery, and even now, 5 weeks later, my foot STILL has not healed.  In fact, just yesterday I had to return to have the wound cauterized, since the stitches dissolved.. and my foot is still bleeding through two gauze pads and my sock.  But, the pathology result did come back with clear margins, so even if takes another 5 weeks to heal, it will be worth it to be cancer-free!

We had our yearly Chrismukkah party in the beginning of December… maybe even our last Chrismukkah in DC!

And lastly, I rung in 2010 fun and low key… a couple friends, lots of classic board games, and a plethora of alcohol.  I think we had way too much to drink by the time Life rolled around, because there were lots of “drunk driving” accidents!

So… what will 2010 bring?  Who knows, but I’m up for the adventure.  Hopefully, however… it will include a Ph.D.!  Disgruntled Julie, Ph.D. has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?