For anyone who lives in the NYC area, you should try to check out the BAM DanceAfrica festival Memorial Day weekend:
http://www.bam.org/view.aspx?pid=41
I've gone the past two years. There's a really fun street fair with crafts, food, clothes, etc. There's also movies and dance performances, and usually art and photography inside BAM itself. I went to a dance performance last year and it was AMAZING. I've been to a lot of dance shows in my life (normal New York families get season tickets to the Yankees, my family gets season tickets to the American Ballet Theatre), but that one was one of the best.
Plus, this year there is going to be a "Late-Night Dance Party" on Saturday night. Hey-ohh!
A Lawyer's Adventures in the Land of Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice
Monday, May 9, 2011
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Awesomely Bad Analogies
So I stumbled across this today:
56 worst/best analogies of high school students
High school teachers submitted the worst analogies they had seen in their students' assignments. Some of them are obviously meant to be a joke. Others... it's not so clear. Some favorites:
I laughed so hard I cried. Alone. In the law school clinic office. Freezing cold. Surrounded by evidence outlines. It was a real highlow.
I'll leave you with this awesome song courtesy of my friend Krishna. AK and I are hosting a fiesta on Thursday and this will def be on the playlist.
Drake vs. M.I.A. vs. AR Rahman
56 worst/best analogies of high school students
High school teachers submitted the worst analogies they had seen in their students' assignments. Some of them are obviously meant to be a joke. Others... it's not so clear. Some favorites:
He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame. Maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.
The lamp just sat there, like an inanimate object.
She walked into my office like a centipede with 98 missing legs.
He was as bald as one of the Three Stooges, either Curly or Larry, you know, the one who goes woo woo woo.
I laughed so hard I cried. Alone. In the law school clinic office. Freezing cold. Surrounded by evidence outlines. It was a real highlow.
I'll leave you with this awesome song courtesy of my friend Krishna. AK and I are hosting a fiesta on Thursday and this will def be on the playlist.
Drake vs. M.I.A. vs. AR Rahman
Peanut Butter Pretzel Truffles
This recipe is super yummy and super easy. It has only three ingredients: peanut butter, pretzels, and chocolate.
Now if you're like me, you're thinking 'Gross. Natural PB has no flavor and a weird texture!' Believe me, this recipe is the only reason I will ever willingly bring natural PB into the house. Reduced Fat Creamy Jif is my 6th food group. Seriously. But natural works better here because of that weird aka "natural" flavor and texture. Plus let's face it, the reason processed peanut butter tastes so good is because of all the added sugar- enter melted chocolate, stage right:
Melt chocolate chips. Roll peanut butter-pretzel balls in the chocolate, place back on wax paper, place in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes or until chocolate sets.
I'm going to find a fun way of packaging these guys and give them to minha mãe for Mother's Day. I already got her a jar of Sarabeth's Plum Cherry jam (she's obsessed), but I think she deserves a little more than that!
Peanut Butter Pretzel Truffles
Ingredients:- 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
- 1/2 cup finely chopped salted pretzels
- 1/2 cup melted chocolate chips (semi-sweet, dark chocolate, white chocolate.. up to you)
Now if you're like me, you're thinking 'Gross. Natural PB has no flavor and a weird texture!' Believe me, this recipe is the only reason I will ever willingly bring natural PB into the house. Reduced Fat Creamy Jif is my 6th food group. Seriously. But natural works better here because of that weird aka "natural" flavor and texture. Plus let's face it, the reason processed peanut butter tastes so good is because of all the added sugar- enter melted chocolate, stage right:
I'm going to find a fun way of packaging these guys and give them to minha mãe for Mother's Day. I already got her a jar of Sarabeth's Plum Cherry jam (she's obsessed), but I think she deserves a little more than that!
Muito fácil e muito delicioso! nom nom.
*UPDATE*: I went to the local chocolate shop and got a tin and some papers to put the truffles in. Only 8 fit in the tin, so the rest will be traveling in the ever-classy tupperware:
Birthday Brownies: The Sequel
Ok two things first:
1) Evidently I lied in the last post about starting to do work, because I've done none since I wrote that and here I am again
2) I just enabled targeted advertising on this site and the first ad I saw was.. Magnum ice cream! One of my all time favorite things in the world. Man these google people are good.
Alright, now back to the brownies.
Well all, just as I share my culinary triumphs with you, I must also share my non-triumphs (let's not use the word failures). The brownies were sub-par. Why, you might ask? Well, I kind of didn't follow the recipe. As you may recall it asks for ChocoBake or, in a pinch, cocoa powder. Evidently I was in more than a pinch because I used solid baking chocolate. Perhaps not enough? Perhaps at the wrong temperature? All I know is something went awry. The brownies were not as moist or chocolaty as they should have been. They were more like cake. Pretty good cake, but not what expected. I also place some of the blame on the hardware (evidently living in a prewar building means getting stuck with a prewar oven). Whatever, I stand by the recipe, and I just ordered a ton of ChocoBake from Amazon.
On to the decorating. I wanted to draw something with candles (since it was Akshaya's Bday, after all) but figured drawing a cake on brownies would be kind of weird (like a dessert turducken). For reasons unbenownst to me, I decided that I should draw a chandelier. So here's what I did.
First, I let the brownies cool to room temperature, and then drew a chandelier on a piece of computer paper. Actually I drew half of a chandelier, folded the piece of paper in half, held it up to the window, and traced the other half to make sure it was symmetrical.
I cut out a few pieces of the sketch so I could use it as a stencil and block out the design. In retrospect, I wish I had done more of this and/or marked more spots with toothpicks because it was hard to reconstruct the design.
I made a simple buttercream frosting, dyed some of it yellow and some blue, and used a size 4 pastry bag tip to draw on the chandelier. The beads are the same candy pearls I used on the buttercup bundt cakes from last week. For the writing and the border I used a size 16 pastry tip.
Voila! Not too bad. Next time I will do more tracing and less eyeballing to avoid some of the squiggliness. ( And maybe I'll spend more than 20 seconds on the text to avoid the kindergarten-macaroni-collage look.)
Happy Birthday AK! xox
1) Evidently I lied in the last post about starting to do work, because I've done none since I wrote that and here I am again
2) I just enabled targeted advertising on this site and the first ad I saw was.. Magnum ice cream! One of my all time favorite things in the world. Man these google people are good.
Alright, now back to the brownies.
Well all, just as I share my culinary triumphs with you, I must also share my non-triumphs (let's not use the word failures). The brownies were sub-par. Why, you might ask? Well, I kind of didn't follow the recipe. As you may recall it asks for ChocoBake or, in a pinch, cocoa powder. Evidently I was in more than a pinch because I used solid baking chocolate. Perhaps not enough? Perhaps at the wrong temperature? All I know is something went awry. The brownies were not as moist or chocolaty as they should have been. They were more like cake. Pretty good cake, but not what expected. I also place some of the blame on the hardware (evidently living in a prewar building means getting stuck with a prewar oven). Whatever, I stand by the recipe, and I just ordered a ton of ChocoBake from Amazon.
On to the decorating. I wanted to draw something with candles (since it was Akshaya's Bday, after all) but figured drawing a cake on brownies would be kind of weird (like a dessert turducken). For reasons unbenownst to me, I decided that I should draw a chandelier. So here's what I did.
First, I let the brownies cool to room temperature, and then drew a chandelier on a piece of computer paper. Actually I drew half of a chandelier, folded the piece of paper in half, held it up to the window, and traced the other half to make sure it was symmetrical.
Here's my drawing.
I cut out a few pieces of the sketch so I could use it as a stencil and block out the design. In retrospect, I wish I had done more of this and/or marked more spots with toothpicks because it was hard to reconstruct the design.
I made a simple buttercream frosting, dyed some of it yellow and some blue, and used a size 4 pastry bag tip to draw on the chandelier. The beads are the same candy pearls I used on the buttercup bundt cakes from last week. For the writing and the border I used a size 16 pastry tip.
Voila! Not too bad. Next time I will do more tracing and less eyeballing to avoid some of the squiggliness. ( And maybe I'll spend more than 20 seconds on the text to avoid the kindergarten-macaroni-collage look.)
Happy Birthday AK! xox
Friday, May 6, 2011
Warning: This post is not edible. Final exam mix!
Hi Hi.
So I haven't posted in a few days because I've (finally) buckled down and started doing some studying. Took an 8 hour take-home exam today. (Not fun). I'm making peanut butter pretzel truffles right now to give to my mom for Mother's Day on Sunday. (Fun)
I still don't quite have time to post brownie pics or truffle recipes, but I want to share my **Spring 2011 Final Exam music mix (!!)** because the more I study the more in love with it I am. I tried to pick songs that were relatively down-tempo, because anything with a strong beat tempts me to jump out of my seat and start dancing, but I also made sure to pick songs that I really like and can listen to repeatedly without getting sick of them. So here it is:
Enjoy!
So I haven't posted in a few days because I've (finally) buckled down and started doing some studying. Took an 8 hour take-home exam today. (Not fun). I'm making peanut butter pretzel truffles right now to give to my mom for Mother's Day on Sunday. (Fun)
I still don't quite have time to post brownie pics or truffle recipes, but I want to share my **Spring 2011 Final Exam music mix (!!)** because the more I study the more in love with it I am. I tried to pick songs that were relatively down-tempo, because anything with a strong beat tempts me to jump out of my seat and start dancing, but I also made sure to pick songs that I really like and can listen to repeatedly without getting sick of them. So here it is:
- Let Me Be- Xavier Rudd
- Wasted Hours- Arcade Fire
- Rich Woman- Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
- Cler Achel- Tinariwen
- I'm Good, I'm Gone- Lykke Li
- Farmhouse- Phish
- Inchana Massina- Ali Farka Toure
- Long Long Nite- Mano Negra
- New York City (Lazy Sunday in Prospect Park Remix)- Norah Jones
- The Only Living Boy in New York- Simon & Garfunkel
- Little Bit- Lykke Li
- Kala- Ali Farka Toure & Toumani Diabate
- Buckets of Rain- Bob Dylan
- Penda Yoro- Ali Farka Toure
- Saa Magni- Oumou Sangare
- Long Haul- Voxtrot
- Me Gustas Tu- Manu Chao
- Dream Machine (Downtempo Remix)- Mark Farina & Sean Hayes
- La Vida Tombola- Manu Chao
- Heart it Races (as played by Dr Dog)- Architecture in Helsinki
- Ghostwriter- RJD2
- Siempre Me Quedara- Bebe
- Stay Don't Go- Spoon
- Clandestino- Manu Chao
- Love and Happiness- Al Green
- Haiti- Arcade Fire
- I Turn My Camera On- Rock Kills Kid
- El Microfono- Mexican Institute of Sound
- Lights Out- Santigold
- Forever Young- Youth Group
- El Carretero- Buena Vista Social Club
- Young Folks- Peter Bjorn and John
- Cello Song- Nick Drake
- Collie Man- Slightly Stoopid
- Mexico- James Taylor
- 50 Ways to Leave your Lover- Paul Simon
- M'bife- Amadou & Mariam
Enjoy!
Monday, May 2, 2011
Birthday Brownies!
Huzzah! Today is my darling roommate and dear friend Akshaya's birthday! Unfortunately we are in the midst of final exams so the festivities will have to wait until next week. However, in honor of the day of her birth I am making some brownies.
The recipe is one I got from my mother, who probably got it from her mother. These brownies were a staple growing up in my house. My parents have a home video of me at approximately 4 years old making them with my dad. After we stick the pan in the oven he asks if I want to "lick the bowl," at which point I literally pick up the mixing bowl, stick my head into it, and start licking.
These days I use a spoon, but the enthusiasm is the same.
Thoroughly mix together the butter and sugar. Most baking recipes call for the ingredients to be at room temperature, but you really want the butter melted here to avoid clumping. Add eggs one at a time, then add Chocobake. Set aside.
In a smaller bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to the sugar and eggs, stirring until totally combined.
Add vanilla extract, stir again.
Bake in a greased 9x9 inch baking pan for 30 minutes or until a toothpick stuck into them comes out clean.
These are in the oven right now and they. smell. so. good.
I'll be back later a picture of the final product!
The recipe is one I got from my mother, who probably got it from her mother. These brownies were a staple growing up in my house. My parents have a home video of me at approximately 4 years old making them with my dad. After we stick the pan in the oven he asks if I want to "lick the bowl," at which point I literally pick up the mixing bowl, stick my head into it, and start licking.
These days I use a spoon, but the enthusiasm is the same.
Mom's Brownies
Ingredients:- 1/3 cup butter (melted)
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs (room temperature)
- 2 envelopes ChocoBake (this can be hard to find, so if you don't have it, substitute with 6 tablespoons cocoa powder and 1 tablespoon vegetable oil)
- 2/3 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Thoroughly mix together the butter and sugar. Most baking recipes call for the ingredients to be at room temperature, but you really want the butter melted here to avoid clumping. Add eggs one at a time, then add Chocobake. Set aside.
In a smaller bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to the sugar and eggs, stirring until totally combined.
Add vanilla extract, stir again.
Bake in a greased 9x9 inch baking pan for 30 minutes or until a toothpick stuck into them comes out clean.
These are in the oven right now and they. smell. so. good.
I'll be back later a picture of the final product!
Recipe: Vegetable Chili
In dietary penance for the past couple of posts, today's recipe is totally healthy, fresh, and sugar-free. I call it chili, mainly because I dump tons of chili powder into it, but its relatively low on beans and completely lacking in meat so perhaps that's not the best name. At any rate, its simple, delicious, low-fat/calorie/carb/etc., and for the vegetarians out there it packs a good amount of protein (you can also add vegetarian ground beef if you wish). I often double the recipe and then freeze some of it so I have it around for awhile. The mechanics of the recipe are simple so feel free to experiment with different beans and vegetables.
Ingredients:
2. Add the next 5 ingredients (the red stuff)
Add the spices, season with salt and pepper and mix well
Cover, bring to a boil, then simmer for 20-30 minutes (this may vary depending on how finely you chopped the vegetables)
Serve with a sprinkling of cheese or a spoonful of plain yogurt sprinkled with cayenne pepper
It's not very photogenic, but I promise its delicious.
Vegetable Chili
Ingredients:
- 2 onions, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 3 celery ribs, chopped
- 2 green bell peppers, seeded and diced
- 2 zucchini, sliced
- 14-oz can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 14-oz can chopped tomatoes
- 2/3 cup passata or tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 teaspoon each hot chili powder, ground cumin, and ground coriander (I usually double this... sometimes triple...)
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
2. Add the next 5 ingredients (the red stuff)
Add the spices, season with salt and pepper and mix well
Cover, bring to a boil, then simmer for 20-30 minutes (this may vary depending on how finely you chopped the vegetables)
Serve with a sprinkling of cheese or a spoonful of plain yogurt sprinkled with cayenne pepper
It's not very photogenic, but I promise its delicious.
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