food friday

it's friday. crap. tgif, but -tgif about all the crizzap i gots to get done. who ever said grad school was a good idea?

so friday = food friday around here. but, if you're anything like me lately, meals squashed in the middle of the week can only be described as "lackluster" at best. i usually dream up something horribly boring like avocado on toast, greek yogurt or my favorite standby chickpea salad with lemon and parmesan. the boyfriend and i usually try to drum up something somewhat creative on the weekend, but since metagenomics will be my boyfriend over the weekend, i'm left to my own devices. something sinfully inappropriate like ms. stewarts monstrously cheesy melted goodness...

Gratinéed Macaroni and Cheese with Tomatoes
from Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The New Classics

Ingredients:
16 ounces elbow macaroni
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided, plus more for dish
1 1/4 cups baguette, torn into small pieces
1 tablespoon fresh thyme chopped
2 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt, diivided
3/4 teaspoon pepper, divided
1 quart milk
5 tablespoons flour
1 pinch nutmeg
4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
16 ounces fresh tomato, cut into 1 inch chunks
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter a 9 by 13 inch baking dish or a 3 quart casserole dish; set aside. Melt 2 tablespoons butter, and pour over the bread in a medium bowl; toss. Add 1 teaspoon thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, toss.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add salt. Cook pasta until just beginning to soften, 2 to 3 minutes (it will not be fully cooked). Drain and rinse.
Warm the milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Heat the remaining 5 tablespoons butter in high-sided skillet or pot over medium until foaming. Add the flour; whisk one minute. Slowly whisk in the warm milk. Cook, whisking, until bubbling and thickened, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Add 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, the remaining 2 teaspoons thyme, the nutmeg, and cheese to pan; stir until the cheese is melted.
Stir the pasta and tomatoes into the cheese sauce. Pour into the buttered dish; sprinkle with the bread topping. Bake until bubbling and golden, about 30 minutes. let cool slightly before serving.

Serves 6 to 8.

i'll let you know if i survive

happy may day!

some of my favorite memories growing up were celebrating may day every year with my mom. first we'd gather flowers from the rose garden and then construct our cones out of construction paper with ribbons so they could hang. then we'd put the flowers in and hang them on neighbors' doorknobs after which we would ring the doorbell and run away!
one year we even made a maypole.

sick. again.

i'm dying a slow death.

so i called my boyfriend an assface.

sing it peter

''Yeah, I just stare at my desk; but it looks like I'm working. I do that for probably another hour after lunch, too. I'd say, in a given week I probably only do about 15 minutes of real, actual, work.'' —Peter

weekend update.

so the weekend was a studying bust. but it did have its high points. sushi was made. bellies were filled to the point of explosion and giggles were giggled. this is saturday night in pictures. all stolen from miss hunter without any permission whatsoever. me, mesmerized by matts quick sushi rolling abilities josh, chastizing. end product. in other weekend news, there was no news! special shopping was delayed due to sick boyfriend. so the rest of the weekend was spent procrastinating, nursing said boyfriend back to almost health, more procrastinating, bridal shower, migrating, procrastinating and eating. but i did finish the rest of veronica mars season 2! woo! almost full geek status!

Speidi looking nasty

really heidi? i really don't think duct tape counts as shoes

and to do it again seven days later is just salt on the wound...

food friday. khao niaow ma muang

the board has decided that every friday be deemed "food friday". so i will now discuss last nights adventure in food.
for weeks i've been obsessed with khao niaow ma muang (aka mango sticky rice). on a recent trip to the local thai place, as the boyfriend and i gobbled down the delisciousness, i declared i was going to make it and perfect it.

first order of business: locating sweet rice. in a town that touts itself as the "city of diversity" you would assume finding the primary rice eaten in thai cultures would be pretty easy. nope. so i attempted using what i had. regular rice. eh. aborio rice. gahross. black wild rice. don't even want to talk about it...

second order: cook without bamboo rice steamer. because again, not easily located and not really up for putting in effort the of purchasing one just yet. one recipe suggested simmering the rice in vast amounts of coconut milk for 3 painstaking hours, resulting in a mushy, lackluster concoction. attempt two was much of the same but a combo of steaming and simmering. jesus no. it just kept getting worse and worse.

until i met Kiet. a nice little thai man who happens to own an asian grocery store a block away from boyfriends house. not only did kiet have regular sweet rice, but purple. oh man. but that's for another day. still no fancy rice steamer, so i made my sweet rice like a white lady. in a rice cooker, made the coconut sauce, let it all soak in for 10 or so minutes, chopped my mango and voila it tasted almost decent! so this is the coconut sauce recipe for one cup of rice:

• 1 1/3 cups well-stirred canned coconut milk
• 1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. let is simmer for 5 minutes then pour 1/2 on top of rice. let sit for 10 minutes
2. slice up mango. (here is handy how-to because mangos are a bitch to cut.)
3. pour the rest of the sauce on top!

go make it. best.desert.ever.
just don't make it for my sister. she'll die.

(ok. this isn't a picture of the one i made, but what is a post worth without a picture (interrobang))

paper wreath

i love this. how sweet would it be to have this at your wedding. two (because i like symmetry) perhaps gracing the entrance to the chapel? the reception? each paper inscribed with something symbolic to the two of you.

anyone throwing up yet?

this lovely lady can make you one for pretty cheap. but i think it would be sweeter to do it yourself. ambitious. yes. but they didn't call me "snippits" growing up for nothing.

things i'd sell my left ovary for

Christian Lacroix
Mulberry
mint jodi arnold


marchesa

and the pièce de résistance...these gorgeous numbers from sherri hill totally fulfill my 50's prom girl fantasies. watch out future bridesmaids!
sherri hill

shocker.

any one wanna make a guess why this union is over????

maybe she'll pay her attorneys with goodie bags.

wha!

"donzo" kristen (of laguna beach fame) cameos on veronica mars as a cheerleading lesbo. my night just got awesome.and yes, i'm watching veronica mars. you're probably thinking, "isn't she a grad student? doesn't she have a big fat thesis to write? shouldn't she be working on internship crap?"

yes. yes. and yes.

but nope. not gonna do it. babygirl's tired.

bear on bear crime

serious business.

j'adore!

this peu d'oeuf garçon is so charming! he says bonjour as he scoops sucre into your café!

très sweet!

dear gwennie

you're a pretty lady.
and i wholeheartedly believe pretty shoes don't have to be practical

but even pretty ladies need help from tyra sometimes.

r.i.p.

it is a sad day in the tout house. just confirmed is the discontinument (new word alert) of my beloved clif lemon poppyseed bar. no, we never went rock climbing together like they cheerfully suggested. but we did have a grand time getting through late night study sessions, hypoglycemic episodes while shopping and traffic jams. your cousin black cherry almond is pretty awesome, but you'll always be my fav.

goodbye dear friend.

mama please

"twins"
great shoes think alike.via camper

that's what she said

god. i love the office.

la plus belle robe

j'adore oscar

A Return to Glamour

happy 4 day birthday simon!

Cameo & Black

oh martha