Sunday, March 30, 2014

Paris in the fall...



Last spring I decided to finally summon the courage to take my first big adventure.  I have never traveled before, certainly not on my own.  I have always dreamed of traveling abroad, but I have kept that hope at arm’s length.  I never made plans; I just assumed that it would happen in that mystical illusion of someday.  But, that kind of adventure doesn’t happen if you don’t take steps to make it happen, and I found myself in my 30s having never really fulfilled that dream to myself.

Currently, I am a returning adult student.  This means that in addition to working 40+ hours a week I am also trying to complete course work towards a bachelor’s degree.  The technical school I am attending has a study abroad program which includes a 10-day trip to France at the end of the spring semester in odd years.  I have wanted to do this since I graduated from there the first time around in 2007.  Now that I was back in school, I decided I was going to make plans to make this happen including taking 2 semesters of French (which I needed for my general studies anyway).  I applied for the 2013 trip, and then I wished and dreamed and tried not to get my hopes up.  It didn’t work so well, and I was crushed when I found out the trip was canceled due to lack of applications.

I didn’t know how else I was going to make my dream of France a reality, so I did what any heroine would do in my situation…I moped for a bit.  Okay, most heroines wouldn’t just mope.  But…after I got over myself, I just couldn’t shake the idea of going.  I was so close this time. 

For my French class, one of our assignments was to listen to French music to help us explore the culture and language more.  There was a song that kept playing on NRJ (sort of a Pandora-esque music streaming station) that stuck with me.  In researching it, I discovered it was the first single released relating to a production of Robin des Bois.  I am a HUGE Robin Hood fan.  A book or movie or TV show (or you name it) with some sort of Robin Hood theme, and I want to get my hands on it.  Anyway turns out Robin des Bois was a musical set to open in Paris in September of 2013.  I started following the news updates and video releases desperate to get my hands on anything I could in the hopes that one day I would find some nugget of a story that told me the musical was going to come to the states after it finished its tour of France.  No such luck.  And that is when I started looking at travel packages…you know…just to look.  I certainly wasn’t going to purchase a plane ticket just for a silly musical.  Besides, it didn’t hurt to look.  There was no commitment involved.

But, by then it was too late.  I was going.  My husband was supportive.  He had big adventures in his youth,  and he knew I never had traveled or had a chance to do anything like this before.  One of my dear friends at the time was planning a long tour of several countries abroad, and I had been listening longingly to her stories and plans.  So in March of 2013, I signed the papers and purchased a ticket and a tour package for Paris.  I was going the first part of October.  I was going to have an adventure!

Of course this is my story which means there is a healthy dose of neurosis layered over my enthusiasm, and I was afraid to tell anyone.  I was afraid it would be canceled again, so I didn’t plan as well as I should or get the right kind of advice. 

I did get to go to Paris and I had an adventure.  There were so many things about that experience that I am unbelievably grateful for.  However, there were also a lot of disappointments and frustrations that I had not planned for.  I have waited several months to reflect on my time there before I decided to write this travelogue.  I wanted time to absorb the experiences, sift through the good and the bad.  Now when I find myself thinking back wistfully, I know it is time to share that adventure.

There were ups and downs and not everything I share will be rose colored. But it was a beautiful experience and I can’t wait to share my story of Paris in the fall.


Saturday, May 11, 2013

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries


If you love Pride and Prejudice....I think you will enjoy this:




I really enjoyed this adaptation. There are 100 episodes.  I can't wait for the DVDs :)


....and regardless of the version...I really enjoy watching Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy fall in love.

Why must everything have to make a statement?

I recently joined a "trashy bookclub".  We started by reading a somewhat trashy book.  However, everyone decided that they would rather not spend time reading books they weren't really interested in so we modified it a bit to "books that wouldn't make pretentious book lists." 

Recently, we read the book "Austenland".  I absolutely thoroughly loved it.  It is about a young woman who seems to base all of the men she meets upon the Mr. Darcy character from "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen.  As you can imagine, this has some negative consequences.  A rich relative dies and leaves her a two week vacation in an immersive Jane Austen experience.  Here she is confronted with her own neurotic ideas about love and relationships.  She learns something from this experience.  And while not entirely cured of her odd notions (it is only a two week vacation), she grows up a little.  She also finds romance. 

I admit the character is odd and neurotic and not entirely likable at times.  But,  I also really identified with her.  I think the fact that she wasn't "practically perfect in every way" was refreshing and made the store that much more believable.  And, yes the romance was a little over the top at times, but there was truth to that kind of falling in love...I know because parts of it reminded me of my own romance story.

Others in the book club did not share my viewpoints.  They felt that it was a negative example of women spending all their time looking for a man and that the reason women were neurotic was because of books like this.  While I respect their right to feel differently about the book, it does trigger the one thing that bothers me....why does everything always have to make a statement?

Don't get me wrong.  There are all sorts of things in our culture that anger me about how women are treated and viewed and occasionally repressed.  I am also truly grateful for women like Susan B. Anthony and the suffragettes who made great strides for women's rights.  Feeling respect and pride in what these women have done does not mean that I can't love a really great romance.

And the truth is, while I am a strong and confident woman in my own right, I am also neurotic.  I am imperfect.  I like cake more than exercise.  I get angry about the injustices of the world but do nothing about them.  I have very strong opinions about the right types of paperclips.  I snore and talk in my sleep.  I get up tight when things aren't put away and the doors aren't locked in triplicate.  And, while I may not be proud of these things, they are a part of who I am. 

The author created a story that contained some truth.  Reading a book about a woman with some slightly neurotic tendencies, spoke to me.  And the somewhat unrealistic romance....it left me breathless.  I was moved in a way that I haven't been in quite some time and I really love escaping into fiction.

Her second book "Midnight in Austenland" involves a mystery and some more intrigue.  However again in this book, a woman who has broken by love is able to find a chance to have it again.  No, a woman's whole worth does not center on whether or not she has a man.  I don't believe that at all.  I do however believe that love is a beautiful amazing thing to be blessed with.  It doesn't make a person more complete but it can make life better in its own way.  If love wasn't that magical, we wouldn't allow ourselves to be so hurt by it.

I do think both books (particularly the second) make a strong statement about the importance of finding one's own strength.  It can have a healing effect and can open doors.  Both heroines found love after they found their own confidence, and the men they found, loved them for who they were...neuroses and all.

All that aside, these books won't make the top of women's lib fiction. They do both contain beautiful stories.  I really love  a good beautiful story and particularly a beautiful romance.

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Knitting!

I made the hat last year and wanted a pair of mittens to go with it.  It figures I would finish it just as the weather warms up :)


Sunday, December 9, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving and Cranberry Salad

This is very late obviously, but I am still trying to catch up from the semester.  My husband and I hosted Thanksgiving this year for his family and our extended family.  He made the turkey (isn't it beautiful) and I made mashed potatoes, wild rice stuffing, green beans, sauteed carrots, cheesecake and pumpkin bread with marscapone.  I also made the cranberry gelatin mold, but since it is my own creation I will share more on that later.

We have a lot of food allergies/needs so it is always a bit of a challenge to meet all of those.  My goal was to try to make as many items available to as many people as possible.  I managed to allow everyone to get all but one or two items.  The only place I didn't succeed was the cranberry gelatin as vegetarian gelatin is not consistent, and I ran out of time to troubleshoot.  Things turned out well though; we had a good variety as well as leftovers but not so many that I felt like people didn't like what was made.   The stuffing was a big hit, gluten-free, and vegetarian when I changed it to vegetable stock.  It also worked pretty well in the crockpot as long as I kept it on low and added extra liquid.  This was good as I had run out of stove/oven space. 

I think I may have found my Thanksgiving menu finally.  I like tradition, and so I wanted to find a menu that I could really master over the years.  I thought it should be interesting though.

 For our family, pie is always a losing battle. I have to make 4 pies for 8 people in order to ensure that everyone has something they like and are not allergic too.  Cheesecake works for everyone and pumpkin bread helped make it feel more festive.  They are pretty heavy desserts, but it is the least amount of work.

My family never really did the whole "cranberry" thing with thanksgiving.  I think at most we had the canned stuff.  I really love molded gelatins but find most of them unpalatable, so this was my big challenge to myself.  I did some reading online and combined elements from a couple different recipes.  What I came up with worked pretty well and I am overall pleased. 

 
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you have much to be thankful for.  I know I do.



Spiced Orange Cranberry Gelatin
1 bag  (12 oz.) cranberries
½ cup  sugar
1 navel orange, peeled, sectioned and chopped (zest the orange first)
1-1/2 cups  boiling water
2 pkg.  (3 oz each) JELL-O Cranberry Flavor Gelatin, or any red flavor (I used cranberry and raspberry -they only had one cranberry left at the store)
1 tsp.  or 1 packet of mulling spice
1-1/2 cups  cold water
1 Tbsp.  lemon juice

 
PLACE cranberries in food processor container; cover. Process until finely chopped; place in medium bowl. Add sugar, chopped orange segments and zest; mix well.
PREP a 6-cup mold with cooking spray.  Add fruit mixture.
BRING water with the mulling spice to a boil. Strain out the spices and stir boiling water into dry gelatin in large bowl at least 2 minutes until gelatin is completely dissolved. Stir in cold water and lemon juice.
ADD gelatin to mold.  Stir gently so the fruit is distributed throughout the gelatin.  Alternately, you can allow the gelatin to set for an hour and then add the fruit, but I wanted to go to bed so I did them all at once.
REFRIGERATE 6 hours or until firm. Unmold. Garnish as desired. Store leftover salad in refrigerator.  If the mold does not release, place in a dish of warm water to allow the mold to expand slightly and the gelatin to release from the sides.

Yellow Cake Mix Expermients or Uranium Pancakes



I have a confession to make.  I don’t like pancakes.  I really, really want to like pancakes.  It is cake you can have for breakfast.  It is portable cake that you can cover in all sorts of other goo.  How can I not like pancakes?

But the thing is that pancakes aren’t really cake.  The ratios of fat to starch and dry to liquid as well as the variance in leavening really make this an entirely different animal.  But, I order pancakes expecting them to taste like yellow cake and they never do.  I have tried all sorts of variations and recipes, and while I have made some fairly tasty pancakes, they don’t ever taste like what I want them to taste like…yellow cake.

My husband and I were discussing this, and he asked me the question that has been staring me in the face all this time…Why don’t I just make pancakes out of cake batter?  He has a point.  I mean really what is the worst that can happen.  If it doesn’t work, I can just pour the rest of the batter in a cake pan and throw it in the oven.  I would still have cake, and I may even discover a pancake I would actually like.

I decided I would do this with a cake mix because I wasn’t certain I wanted to invest the time it takes to make the cake batter from scratch.  As mentioned above, I am also aware of the differences between cake and pancake batter.   For one thing, cake batter is significantly thinner than pancake batter.  I really didn’t want to have cake batter running all over my griddle and the counter and the floor, etc when I poured into the pan.  

I opted to do a little research into the differences and see if there is a way that I could balance the batter without losing the yellow cake essence.  I started looking at recipes in my trusted sources (Alton Brown and Joy of Cooking)*.    Pancakes require a starch (all-purpose flour or a blend of flours  or what have you), some sort of fat, some sort of liquid, a leavening agent, and a binder (well and a flavoring agent but that really isn’t all that necessary with pancakes).  Cakes have similar requirements.  In the end though, the method by which heat is applied to each to create the chemical reactions necessary for either to turn out as intended is drastically different.  So the ratios and types of ingredients is going to change.

Cakes rise because of the leavener (generally some combination of baking soda and baking powder) ; however because of the slower cooking time, they don’t need as much as the pancakes do.  This is because the other thing that makes them rise is the steam that builds up inside the cakes.  The starch helps hold these pockets of steam until the protein in the eggs heats and binds together forming a spongy network that holds it shape even after the steam evaporates (I couldn’t find my chem paper for college a few years ago so I am probably not explaining that entirely correct).

Pancakes heat much faster.  It is the reason pancakes don’t use butter.  Butter is where the water to create the steam often comes from in cake recipes.  Butter melts too fast in pancakes so you end up with fat and no water (it already evaporated) before the pockets have formed.  Essentially it’s a great big mess, and pancakes really need to hold their own shape while heating.   The steam thing happens differently so more chemical leavening is required to get the necessary rise in the shorter-hotter cooking time.  Many of the ingredients also need to do a little double duty.  For instance many pancake recipes call for buttermilk as it adds fat and moisture at the same time and also helps with the leavening process.

While I understand the process, neither my chemistry or my algebra skills are really strong enough to determine what exactly I needed to do to give this experiment its best possible hope for success.  And, then I remembered that most ideas have been probably already been thought by someone else before you.  In the age of almost ubiquitous internet, someone has also probably blogged about it.

And it’s true.  The sites I had read confirmed my suspicions from above and provided some handy ratios.  I wasn’t willing to invest in a grocery store run for experimental breakfast, so I took their ratios and combined them with what I had in my pantry to come up with the following:
1 yellow cake mix
1-1.5 cups flour
Almost 1 tsp more of baking soda, about a tablespoon of sugar, and some extra salt (maybe a pinch or two)
2 cups vanilla almond milk
½ cup sour cream (I had some I wanted to use up)
2 eggs
A splash of vanilla

Cake mix is really clumpy and I ended up needing to use a hand mixer to get this to break down.  I worried this would over process the batter a bit, but it needed to be done.  Sifting might be a better option.
It actually worked pretty well.  I ended up with pancakes that tasted like yellow cake.   

These are a little too sweet to really be a breakfast food but they aren’t a bad snack.  It makes A LOT of batter so I ended up pouring the rest in a bundt pan with some chocolate chips and popping it in the oven.  I am not sure that these have converted me to a pancake eater, but I certainly had an enjoyable scientific experiment this morning.

*Yes, it is bad science to add too many variables.  I am however not looking for publication in a scientific journal or a prize for innovations in cake making, so I am not really troubled by this

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Yes, Virginia, relationships are hard.



A friend recently shared this article, and it provoked some thought.  I don’t claim to be an expert on any of this so please take this for what it is worth. However, this article does talk about the impact of what not talking about all the facets of relationships has on our society in terms of creating realistic expectations. As someone in a relationship, I wanted to share my impressions.
  I absolutely agree with the premise of this article that our culture is bad at teaching others that relationships are hard.  They are hard or at very least take work.  And, I understand why the author chose to focus on that and not talk about the good that comes from relationships.  We hear it a lot, so it is not a new discussion.  However, I think it hurts the argument somewhat to not elaborate more on the positive outcomes of that hard work that comes with relationships.

 In the article, the author discusses a couple who had every outward appearance of a strong, happy relationship that was actually inwardly falling apart, and from there started a discussion of how our public perceptions of a "good" relationship can hurt us.  I don't disagree with any of this.  However, I also don't disagree with the couple that tried to hide their issues. 

 I have had arguments with my husband and perhaps some of those would have taken our relationship in a different direction had we not worked it out.  Disagreements don't necessarily mean a relationship is heading in the wrong direction (though I realize media and public opinion differs there as well).  Often times, disagreements can make things stronger even if it doesn’t feel that way at the time.  I don't share that piece of my relationship publicly because at their core the arguments are about the two of us learning to understand the others needs and figure out if we can meet them.  In my opinion that is a private discussion, and I think involving others would change its outcome and not necessarily for the better.  I am not saying that couples shouldn’t ask for help if they need it.  People should always be able to ask for help.  I am only saying that the fact that a couple doesn’t publicly air their dirty laundry doesn’t mean they are setting other couples up for failure.

I am not certain that keeping this part of our relationship private hurts other couples.  Perhaps there are couples who look at my relationship and find theirs lacking.  Perhaps this is because they don't see the struggle that comes with the "good" things.  At the same time, I think you build the relationship you need.  My partner and I brought to the table what we needed and what we were willing to give.  We each had areas we were and were not willing to compromise on.  Someone from the outside may see something they respect in what we have, but if they and their partner are not willing to build that it won't work for them.  Just as there are things I see in other couples that wouldn't work for me, I know that my needs are different.  There have also been a number of times that I have seen a successful relationship and thought I don't know how they do it because for me that relationship would not meet my needs. I assume that others looking at mine probably say the same thing.  It isn't about the "right" way and the "wrong" way to have a relationship; it is not a contest. 

 I also agree that as a culture we are not very good at showing that love isn't all you need to make a relationship successful.  There are couples that can make a marriage work even if they don’t love each other.  I also know a couple that was madly in love but couldn’t ever get the details right.  They couldn’t figure out how to be in love and also live together or work together.  I think love is important.  It gives a couple something to hold onto when they reach a rocky point in the relationship.  However, love is not the only thing that can make a relationship successful.  The work that goes into a relationship never stops.  There is never a moment when a couple is done building that bond.  It is an evolution.  Both people are changing which means their needs are changing. 

And, let's be realistic, the relationship itself is changing.  The author also mentions the concept of limerance.  It is what is exciting in the newness of a relationship.  However, it is also the time when you start to build the foundation for what comes next.  When limerance starts to fade, it changes the interactions between the partners a little bit.  Some relationships don't survive this.  Some relationships get better.  Some relationships miss opportunities at this phase which can hurt things down the road.  It varies for every couple.  However, that euphoria doesn't necessarily go away; it just changes and the couple decides what that means.  I see couples who have been together for 50 years still grinning at each other like love struck teenagers.  For other couples, it isn't the PDA but just being their when the other needs them that maintains that initial bond.

I admit that I did grow up watching romantic Cinderella movies.  I grew up believing in the fairy tale.  I also had the good fortunate to grow up watching a marriage that works.  My parents still hold hands; they also still have arguments.  It doesn't matter how many decades you get through with another person, disagreements are going to happen.  As much as I wanted to fall in love, I also knew that relationships don't stop there.  And, honestly, a comfortable settled relationship doesn't generally make for good entertainment.  The only times it really seems to be successful in media is when we see a couple already established who has gone through all the different phases of falling in love already off camera.  And I have to admit that as much as enjoy my relationship, I wouldn't want to watch a TV show about us.

 We are all so different and respond to our own individual needs in different ways.  Bringing another person into that part of our lives is both rewarding and frustrating.  Having someone to support you and be there when it looks like there is no light at the end of the tunnel feels like magic sometimes.   However, the other person has needs too and those don't go away just because they are helping you with yours.  Sometimes we meet the person whose needs balance with our own, and we build a relationship with that person.  Sometimes they don't and both people look for other options.

There is no perfect formula for a happy marriage because no two people are the same nor do they interact the same.  I believe research has shown that there are some basic core components that make a relationship successful, but how each couple meets those components varies with what each partner brings to the table.  I think the only thing that really seems to be consistent to having a successful relationship is that both partners are committed to making that relationship a success.  This commitment can mean the difference between an argument that creates a positive change in a relationship and an argument that destroys it.  If both partners want to work it out, they are much more likely to be successful in doing so (though admittedly not always).

I agree with the author that relationships are hard.  Relationships are hard but for good reason.  It is always hard work to build something meant to last.  It doesn't mean that the difficulty of the task is unrewarding.  Have my husband and I argued? Yes. Have we hurt each other?  Yes. Do we make each other crazy sometimes? Yes.  Have we grown stronger because of it? Yes.  Would I change that?  No.  Relationships are worth it when you get it right.  I still have those moments when I am struck by how much I love what we have, and I lean over and tell my husband exactly that.  Sometimes other people witness this.  I am not doing this to flaunt my happiness at others.  I don't do this because I am saying "look at how effortless love is."  I do this because I never want to miss an opportunity to let him know how much I appreciate him.  It creates good karma for the difficult times ahead… and there always are.

What I think would be of benefit to our culture is not just explaining that relationships are hard, but helping others understand how to get through the difficult times.  I worry that just saying that relationships are hard might encourage a culture that just accepts it without putting the work into making sure that relationships aren't always hard.  I don't think it is just the awareness that is lacking.  I think that there is also a lack of understanding of the different kinds of relationships, the different stages of relationships, and some of the techniques to help get people through.