This is just worth mentioning because it's super yummy, even though it's not exactly a recipe. At the grocery store the other day, on a whim, I bought chicken breast that had been seasoned with a Door County cherry rub. Normally, I don't buy pre-seasoned things, and I'll admit that I thought it was a little bit salty. But, hey, not everything can be perfect, right? I did like a little bit of salt with the sweet/tart taste of the cherries, but not too much.
Anyway, my favorite way to have chicken breast is to pan-fry on medium heat so that it cooks kind of slowly and stays really, really juicy inside. Then, since I have a big bowl of tart cherries sitting here waiting to be put into a pie, I decided to sprinkle some over the chicken. No sauce required -- these little cherries are usually pretty juicy, so they're good to kind of mash up a little bit and spread on the chicken.
Anyway. It was delicious. I had to share. :)
***
I was going to go blueberry picking today, but plans fell through -- it is also HOT OUT THERE. Although the heat is not going to keep me from heading over to the local annual art fair, where my dad is displaying his paintings again this year. Going to art shows always brings me back to teenage summers when I used to accompany my dad to art fairs around the state and the midwest -- the most fun were always the furthest away. ;)
So, where have I been the last week?
Where haven't I been?
Well, blogging. (Sorry!) :)
But here I am! It's Friday, it's a gorgeous, warm, end-of-July day and I'm listening to James Newton Howard's original score for the film The Village, and loving this afternoon. In fact, the last few days have been simply lovely.
It starts with friends, and goes on with family, and even further with the prospect of new and exciting things to come. As I mentioned, South Korea is definitely on the docket. I've been putting in my resume where I can, and keeping my eye out for positions once they start opening up for February. I'm in no position to go on any emergency-hire expediency-required last-minute escapes to the other side of the globe, but I'm hoping not to wait longer than February. Until then, there's plenty of other applications, interviews, and paperwork to do before any packing/moving/traveling happens. Of course, updates galore to come where all that's concerned! Right now, it's a waiting game and not much more.
Over the past couple of weeks, I've had some really good times with some of my greatest friends. One really fantastic friend is working his last day at the bookstore tomorrow, so it has been bittersweet lately. It's so hard to see people go that I get along with so well -- it makes such a huge impact on daily goings-on, even (especially?) at work when you are with them many hours every day, every week. It's interesting to, for once, experience the feeling of being left. Historically, I never stuck around any one place as long as I've been here again, and I became accustomed to being the one who gave everyone else the news that I was leaving. I was the leaver, always. Now... I'm being left. It's an interesting sensation to finally catch up with how that feels on the other end.
The beauty of distance is the ability to communicate through letters.
Earlier on in the week, I got my hands on my first real cataloging project at the museum, which entailed a collection of 1940s dental hygiene and food values posters. Weird! But really funky -- and kind of disturbing in a going-to-the-dentist-makes-me-cringe sort of way. So the culmination of all of my "training" there has come down to this one first all-me project that includes cleaning, writing up condition reports and informational worksheets, photographing, and entering data into the computerized database. It's all very nice, actually. I'm convinced I couldn't do this sort of solitary work full time, but it's nice to have a chunk of time on Monday mornings to put toward something like this. And the whole point of the museum volunteering stint was to figure out if I loved it anyway, so... question answered. ;)
Anyway. Yesterday, my mom, sister and grandmother drove the couple hours northeast to Door County to check out an antique store. However, due to:
...I was running on fumes and could hardly stay awake for more than ten consecutive minutes in the car, or walking around an antique mall, for that matter. I had my camera with me, but was in no mood to be much of an imagist. Possibly, the one benefit of being terribly hungover and running on literally a half hour of sleep (at 8am), was that absolutely nothing was interesting enough to want to buy. However, I came away with some spoils! They were one major reason for going in the first place. Little red glories, that Door County is famous for:
Both sweet and tart cherries, the tart ones are best for pie, which I'll make soon. And the sweet ones are just for snacking, or adding to the pie for extra filler. So excited! So yummy.
We had lunch at a little place in Sister Bay, WI called the Mission Grille where I had a grilled cheese with tomato and pesto. I've been there once before and it's been delicious both times. It was a beautiful day to be by the lake yesterday.
Tonight, a ladies' night ensues for a majority of the girls at the bookstore. One of them is leaving us very soon to go back to college, so we're out to a local Irish pub for some yummy ale... or whatever. ;)
Happy summer! We're in the thick of it now.
We (mom and I) were probably 75% sure we weren't going to go biking today, because the weather was supposed to be really crappy. Isolated thunderstorms and humidity... ick. But then it turned out to be a lovely morning, and we geared up and went after all. 25 miles through rural Wisconsin for the 25th annual Best Friends Gourmet Bike Tour, which benefits the Best Friends mentoring organization. We did it last year, too, but we definitely made better time this year, even though it was hot. The sun and heat wiped us right out!
Check out my newly-taped handlebars. I love the red. ;)
We're really glad we went. And of course, it's always great to look forward to a big meal afterwards!
And on the topic of food, I had my very first ripe tomato to pluck today:
The flesh was sweet, but the seeds were a little sour. This might be a good sauce tomato. A bunch more are about to turn, so I'd better start preparing some good tomato recipes! ;D
I'll never get over the wonder that are crepes. Seriously, I think they're amazing. One of those beautifully simple throw-it-together recipes that is so versatile, it can be used for a meal, snack, or dessert, depending on what's put with it. They're thin, dense little pancakes, perfect with just about anything! My favorite, and the one I'll share, is with the famous chocolate-hazelnut spread, Nutella.
Good old flour and eggs, I love you.
And it's more exciting for me because I just bought a new blender and this is the first time I've used it!
Hooray!
Crepes...
I've tried a few variations of the same recipe, the main difference being whether to use oil or butter, and whether or not there is water. It turns out that I like this version the best, which, as are most of the things I end up with, composites of recipes I've used in the past. Because this one uses butter, it's a little richer, and browns beautifully in the pan. Either make them all at once (they should be served hot) or make one or two and then refrigerate the batter, covered, for up to 24 hours.
All you need is a blender and a frying pan.
Makes 4.
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons butter, melted
a pinch of salt
vegetable or canola oil for the pan -- not too much; the crepes will swim in oil, otherwise.
In a blender, combine flour, eggs, milk, water, and salt. Add butter and continue to blend until combined and smooth. Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat, brush with vegetable oil, and make sure it's good and hot. Pour about 1/4 of the batter into the pan and swirl the pan a bit to coat the bottom with the batter. Let the crepe sit for about 2 - 3 minutes or until golden brown, and then flip and do the same to the other side. Serve hot, filled with favorite filling -- Nutella, jam, fruit, eggs, veggies, you name it.
It's like a blank canvas. ;)
I'm no good at keeping exciting things to myself. Every time, I tell myself to just shut up (for once!) and wait to say something when things are more certain, but I can't help myself. I just have to share! It is a fault. ...I inadvertently let it slip to a coworker that I was thinking about pursuing something new. All it took was a sarcastic laugh in response to "You're going to be leaving next!" ...and the cat was out of the bag. Of course I had to tell my boss to make sure he didn't hear it through the grapevine, even though nothing is certain, and hardly even begun, and then everyone else inevitably found out some way or another. What am I doing? --or, I should say, what am I going to try to do?
Teaching English as a foreign language in South Korea!
I found myself at the local public library last week, trying in vain to find an adult nonfiction book or guide to South Korea -- or even just Korea -- that wasn't primarily about the Korean War. No such luck. So I left with a handful of children's geography books, which, as it turns out, where perfect for what I was after -- a basic overview (with pictures!) of South Korea.
I've typed up a resume and I'm beginning to search for positions in South Korea, probably Seoul, but possibly elsewhere. It seems to have come on suddenly, but the truth is that it's something that's crossed my mind occasionally for years -- I've been acquainted with a few people who have taught, or know people who have taught, and although I thought it was pretty cool and exciting, I never really thought it was for me.
After talking it over with one friend, and hearing tales of others who have had good experiences and had advice to impart, I pretty much decided that there were fewer reasons not to do it than to just go ahead with it.
So there's obviously a lot more where this came from. I'm diligently researching the country and the programs/education system there, and there's a lot to learn. Of course, there's no guarantee that I get a job, but I think my chances are good. And if all goes accordingly, I'd be en route to eastern Asia probably in February sometime for the beginning of their school year in the spring.
So, barring any unforeseen hangups or other opportunities... there's a big adventure ahead. :)
I did it! I did it!
It took me a while to round up the ingredients again. I'm constantly weighing in mind the benefits of organic/humane food and the monetary cost (which on my budget is sometimes near-impossible), and tiramisu is not something to take lightly... six eggs, mascarpone (prices vary wildly for some reason) and ladyfingers...
Anyway. I had purchased all the ingredients except the mascarpone the other day because an 8oz. container was four dollars!! So I waited until I was across town to stop into another grocery store where I knew the same exact product was only $2.29. Because I needed two, I couldn't justify paying practically double. No way.
Ladyfingers can be hard to find -- at least the ones that are necessary for this recipe. They need to be the dry, sugary ones as opposed to the refrigerated moist ones. I tried that kind once, and they ended up getting soggy and breaking apart because they were already moist. The brand I usually find around here, if the store carries them, is Alessi.
Because they get dipped in coffee, they have to be pretty dry to start. And then they get arranged and poured over with the mascarpone mixture.
And then there's the coffee. Yum, coffee.
I use a French press for the coffee -- it's quick and I can make however much I want. I used Alterra Coffee Roaster's Black Earth dark roast (yum!) ...and I would like to take this opportunity to share how cute my little tin coffee canister is! I found this and a matching flour one (missing the sugar and tea, unfortunately) at a thrift shop in Park Falls, WI a couple of years ago... It's darling, and so retro.
Citrus makes a big difference -- it adds a brightness to the whole thing. And better to use a fresh orange than orange juice from a carton; it's lighter and usually a little sweeter.
Finally, all the ingredients on hand today, I put a tiramisu together which rivals any I've made thus far. I paid close-close-close attention to the egg-sugar-mascarpone mixing, because, need I remind you, it was a massive, massive failure last time.
Also, I remedied the soppy ladyfingers by dipping them very, very swiftly in the coffee and not allowing nearly as much to soak into the cookies. That made a huge difference. So. Here's the love. Just keep in mind: there is no baking involved, and these egg yolks are raw. Tiramisu isn't really tiramisu without the raw eggs. ;)
Tiramisu
1-2 cups espresso/strong coffee
2 tablespoons rum or vanilla rum, divided
1/2 cup granulated sugar
6 large egg yolks at room temperature
16oz. mascarpone (2 containers)
1/4 cup orange juice, divided (1 fresh orange)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 24+ ladyfingers (one single package is 24, but a few extra are nice)
shaved semi-sweet chocolate for garnish
Beat egg yolks and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high for about three to four minutes, or until thick and light yellow. Lower the speed to low and mix in the mascarpone until smooth. With mixer still on low, add 1 tablespoon of the rum and the vanilla. Stir until combined.
Pour coffee, the remaining rum, and the orange juice in a shallow bowl. Dip each ladyfinger quickly into the mixture, evenly coating with coffee, but not allowing the cookie to soak through. Arrange ladyfingers in the bottom of a pan (I used an 8.5x11x2" oval pan), and fill spaces with pieces. Pour half the mascarpone mixture over the ladyfinger layer and spread evenly. Add second layer of ladyfingers and mascarpone mixture.
Smooth the top, cover, and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight. Sprinkle the top with shaved chocolate and serve cold. Serves 6-8.
I don't really fall in the Harry Potter target age group, although I'm sure people of all ages would debate that there even is a target age group. I read all the books, but not with any sort of rhythm or intense longing to read the next. But a lot of people I know did, and have gone through the years reading all the books and seeing all the movies religiously. I remember my little sister going from basic that's-pretty-cool enthusiasm to full-fledged waiting-outside-Barnes-and-Noble-at-midnight-for-the-new-book fandom. A younger cousin of mine spent his entire weekend vacation up north at the cottage reading the first book when it came out, unable to put it down for water sports or nerf gun fights -- that's kind of when I realized it was a big deal.
For my little sister, her interest waned a little bit over the years. On the other hand, I work with a lovely lady who is the same age as my little sister, and is so fantastically in love with the series that she not only knows just about every trivia fact there is to know, she has not one, but two Harry Potter-inspired tattoos (and where those could easily have gone wrong, they are actually really great; one is the symbol of the Deathly Hallows, the other the last line of the last book).
I thought the last film felt almost like a meditative reflection on the whole series. Granted, there's so much going on, so much to have to know for any of it to make any sense whatsoever -- but I think I appreciated this one the best of any. Of course I won't give anything away.
My beautiful sister and I got "stylized" versions of Harry's glasses at a face-painting table that gave you a choice between the glasses or a lightning bolt. I'm sure I didn't see a single other person with glasses. ;)
A couple girls I know are die-hard fans, so they had a movie marathon that spanned from 11am to around 8pm (I joined in around 6:30), when they packed up their laptop with the HP7P1 (the code, I learned), and took off to the theatre to save seats. 8:30pm and we were saving seats for a movie that began at 12:02am! That was a first for me... even for last year's midnight showing I didn't sit around quite that long.
It seemed a more subdued atmosphere this time. There were plenty of people in Hogwarts costumes, and a pretty impressive Voldemort running around. I even spotted a Whomping Willow. Last year, the place was like a pep rally -- everyone was dressed up, but the excitement was almost palpable. It was loud; kids were chanting and singing. There was a little bit of chanting this time, but nothing like last fall. And I wondered if it was due to the overbearing knowledge that this was the last of them all; it was the end.
And it's funny how even me, the "relatively interested, I liked the books alright" kind of Harry Potter enthusiast, felt the real weight of The End upon its arrival. The phenomenon is so huge, it would feel like being left out if I weren't a part of it.
