2009!

Happy New Year! :)

Cookie Party

About a week ago my boyfriend and I baked some cookies!

We made NY Time’s Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie (I found the recipe at Diana Takes A Bite). I really enjoyed these cookies, but my boyfriend found them a little too salty. Which is funny because it seems like he adds salt on everything else he eats.

Then the Gingerbread Cookies. I found the recipe online at the Recipezaar. I don’t own any cookie cutters, which made this to be a fun opportunity to practice our creative, free hand drawing/cutting. I really liked the gingerbread. It was not too sweet, but not too boring. I enjoyed making thicker cookies (less crunch and more chew).

Classic Gingerbread Man

Gingerbread Quadrapus

Gingerbats (And the Dark Knife)

Heart & Mustache

Pennsylvania

Last night I took the red eye to Philadelphia. Getting through security and boarding the flight went quite smoothly, but sadly I was unable to sleep on the plane. I sat in darkness pretending to sleep, which will only make adjustment harder. I am excited to be at home and with my family (and the many pets!). My parents and I all seem to have some sort of cold or sinus infection going on which makes me want to cook some chicken noodle soup for the house. From scratch. But, I have no recipes. Any ideas of where I should look? Family secret recipes you want to share?

31st Annual Santa Monica Venice Christmas 10k Run 2008

Even though it started raining and was cold, today was awesome. My big dorky watch clocked me at 57:26 with an average speed of 9:18 minutes per mile. My official chip time was 56:56 with a 9:11 minute per mile pace. I am very happy with this number for several reasons. It is at least 15 minutes faster than my first 10k I ran earlier this year. I trained on a treadmill at a slower speed of 10 minutes a mile. I was a little worried that I would try to run too fast in the beginning and would not be able to maintain it or improve, especially since I was moving a little faster than normal. But, by mile 5, I was in it to win it. I am really pleased with the way it all went down. I especially enjoyed this event because there is no other time in my life where I can blatantly ignore red lights and stop signs in Los Angeles. I was also able to see parts of Venice that I have never seen before. I met some nice people at the end of the race. My ipod shuffle worked and played all the right songs at the right time (I sprinted to the finish line while listening to a song from Run Lola Run). And of course, I did it under an hour.

Mile 0-1: 9:45 minutes / mile
Mile 1-2: 9:38 minutes / mile
Mile 2-3: 9:34 minutes / mile
Mile 3-4: 9:22 minutes / mile
Mile 4-5: 9:11 minutes / mile
Mile 5-6: 8:48 minutes / mile
Mile 6-6.2: 6:43 minutes / mile

Who wants to get a beer?

Posters on the Wall

I recently got my new posters framed by Azteca Frame Company in Burbank. Sadly, it is hard for me to get a good picture because of the glare from the glass and the odd shape of the apartment. I am really happy and excited about my new wall art and am pleased with the framing. Here are a few of them:

The first picture is before I hung up my original three posters. The second poster is the map of Los Angeles hung up with a cameo of my third roommate, Penguin (he’s a raver and keeps the blonde Flamingo company at night). The third picture is of the living room and includes one of the new posters. Sadly, there is still a lot of wall space left. But, this is a nice start and is making the room look a little better. The fourth photo is the corner of my small cube of a bedroom. The Magritte poster is not new and obviously unframed - but it complements the Walrus nicely.

Azteca Frame Co
Street: 3412 W Magnolia Blvd
Burbank, ca 91505-2909
Phone: (818) 841-2718

If you would like to be more like me or recognized that you share similar tastes and want to find something similar but not exactly the same:

1. A Dozen Walrus and the Swimming Diplodocus (the dinosaur) are done by Jay Ryan. Both of which, are not sold at his online store The Bird Machine anymore. However, you can find A Dozen Walrus at Poster Cabaret. I don’t think there are anymore Swimming Diplodocus available because I had to order mine from abroad at the Richard Goodall Gallery. They no longer have them for sale. Note: Jay Ryan does a lot of concert posters, but there are a few that he does of non-bands. I like some of his cat ones. Best bet is to buy it from The Bird Machine store because once Poster Cabaret and Richard Goodall get their hands on them, they significantly go up in price.

2. The neighborhood map of Los Angeles County can be bought at Ork Posters. Along with other big cities.

3. The partridge looking birds sitting on top of one another are done by a Wayne Pate and can be found with a bunch of other cool designs at Good Shape Design. Check it out!

Apple-Walnut Amaranth

In previous posts, I mention that I enjoy oatmeal and peanut butter for breakfast. Lately though, I have been searching for something new.  For a week I was eating 18 Rabbits granola (Pecan, Almond and Maple) with soy milk. But, this was almost too sweet for me to have at breakfast - the soy milk definitely didn’t help the situation. So in search of a new breakfast, I paged through a few cookbooks I have lounging around and found a recipe for Apple-Walnut Amaranth. I had no idea what amaranth tasted like or really what it was other than a “nutty, nutritious grain full of vitamins, minerals, and protein.”  I figured, what the heck and got the ingredients necessary:

1 cup amaranth
3 cups plain soy milk
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch kosher salt (optional)
1 large apple, skin on, cored and diced
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Place the amaranth, soy milk, cinnamon, salt (if using), and apple in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Cover pan and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 25-30 minutes until amaranth is soft. Top with chopped nuts and serve.

Although the breakfast is tasty and different, there is a dominating soy milk taste. The texture of the amaranth is fun - soft and seedy-like. I don’t think I could eat it everyday, but it is a nice change. Through research I have found that amaranth is high in protein and gluten free.

Sunday Soup

I spent Sunday morning making my lunch for the day (and hopefully the week). I found a recipe for Creamy Chickpea Soup that sounded simple and delicious. I ate a big bowl for lunch and enjoyed it so much that I figured I should share it with the world. It’s not the most aesthetically appealing soup and looks like a runny peanut butter (which I don’t think is so bad), but it is filling, creamy, and most importantly awesome (because I made it). Recipe is included after the jump.

Step 1. Boil / Simmer

Step 2. Blend

Step 3. Serve

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