Ipod!

I finally bought myself an Ipod. It's a Nano...in silver...holds 4 GB. So apparently it's a brand new model. Too new actually in the sense that I can't even find a case for it =(. I'm quite pleased with the engraving though =D.

Cookie for you if you ID the song...which reminds me...I've been really into Elliott Smith's music again starting about a week ago. Nothing really reminded me to do it, I was just hit with a need to hear Either/Or out of the blue and it only grew from there. I Googled him a few days later only to find out that Sunday marks the 4th anniversary of his death. Man what a coincidence. Rest in peace, Elliott. I really wish you were still around but remain grateful for all the gorgeous pieces that remain.

Finally, after 2 postponements, I baked Richard's belated birfday cake (boston cream pie) plus the pineapple upside-down cake I promised Breeanna from work. Pass the frack out in bed now...

Vulture funds

I'm sad to admit, I only found out this was going on in the last week. It makes me sad and angry.

End of post.

(Hopefully) Delicious Raspberry Oatmeal Cookie Bars!

Even though I worked a bit late and felt exhausted during the commute home tonight, I finally got around to baking these raspberry oatmeal bars that I'd been planning to make for about uh...3 weeks now? I guess with all the lovely concerts lately and purposeful rise in my social activity, it's been hard to find both the time and energy to cook anything real...

To the left is what this recipe is supposed to produce (except I think this reviewer might've used a different flavor of jam). And then there's 2 photos of my version. I think they were sliiightly undercooked, but still pretty tasty. It actually reminded me of a crunchy granola bar. But then I've eaten like a box of those in 2 days so maybe the taste is just stuck on my tongue =p. My roommate and Paco also gave their approval. Although I used less jam than the recipe called for and an all-fruit one at that...these are on the sweet side kids. Might wanna arm yerself with a tall glass o' cold milk as you chomp in!

As usual, I made some changes and substitutions to the recipe. I doubled the recipe and lined a 9 x 13 inch pyrex pan with parchment paper (a baker's best friend 8p). Out of brown sugar, so I just used white sugar and added a few teaspoons of molasses. Replaced 1/3 of the butter with applesauce (the crust would probably be less crumbly with full amount of buttah). Added a teaspoon of cinnamon to the oatmeal mixture. Lastly, I sprinkled just a few white chocolate chips over the jam as well as some crushed cashew pieces on top of the whole thing.

I guess the final verdict about the taste will have to wait until tomorrow, when I offer these to my coworkers. There's something magical about free food though, especially sweets. Let's just say I have a hunch it'll be well-received.

The only thing I'm less than satisfied about is the performance of my camera tonight. Maybe I'm just used to the glossy HQ (and drool-inducing) photos of the veteran food pornographers *cough* i mean...bloggers. But still, I don't think it's too much to expect that my digicam could at least get one close-up that's not horribly blurry. C'est la vie I suppose...one more thing to save up for. Insomnia's been dogging me again this week. TGI(almost)F!

A fresh start...A good start?

I can't believe it's already been a few months since I've graduated from college, gotten my own apartment, and started a real job in DC. The 9-5(ish) grind has its ups and downs, but there's only been sporadic overtime so far. Besides the general unpleasantries of office jobs, I must say the firm treats us quite well...for indentured servants anyway. totally kidding!

On top of those changes, it's been almost 2 months since my boyfriend ran off to Japan to sow his kinky, wild bathroom sex oats (inside joke =X). Heh he's actually teaching English for a year with the JET Program. The distance (holy 13 hour time difference batman...) is certainly a major adjustment and challenge, but I'm grateful to have him in my life at all. <3

So I realized earlier this week that I hadn't used LJ for 20+ weeks. Since things have shifted so much in the rest of my life, I figured I'd try something new in record-keeping as well! I've been going to a LOT of amazing concerts lately (Damien Rice, Editors, The National, Metric, RK, Iron & Wine, Patrick Wolf) and have about as many lined up for the winter. During the past year, food/health has also captured my attention. With some help from the net and an exponentially growing cookbook collection, I've become marginally skilled and more adventurous in the kitchen. In fact, for those of you who haven't heard, my career goals have mostly wandered away from law and toward nutrition. The point of all this being that, among other things, I feel my musical and culinary experiences would be fun to document.

Since we're all picture whores whether we admit it or not, the birth of this page also doubles as incentive for me to get off my ass to buy a real (translation: over 10 MB) memory card for my kaamrra. This site will really be for my own recall as much as for any friends or strangers who stumble upon it. I'll try to keep it interesting (or at least active).

Food porn is always the happiest ending, I find. And what better excuse for cake than a blog birthday? The Real Crepe Cake from Cream Puffs In Venice is my Mount Everest of desserts. NY Times has an interesting article about the masterpiece that inspired it too. I hope to attempt it one day but a photo must suffice for tonight.