Niagara Falls road trip! Part 2

After leaving Ithaca (previous post), we headed towards Niagara Falls, travelling through New York's Finger Lakes region.

Before the trip, I hadn't even known why it was called the "Finger Lakes region."  It's because the area has a bunch of narrow oval lakes, shaped kinda like fingers.

The area is now becoming a famous wine growing area, apparently.  It seems like we passed a sign for a different vineyard every 10 minutes.

We drove past the town of Canandaiuga.  If we go past again, I definitely want to stop by the Sonnenberg Gardens.  I have a soft spot for historic homes and botanical gardens.

NIAGARA FALLS:  Day 1

We reached Niagara Falls, NY, around 3:30 in the afternoon.  We decided our first stop should be the visitor's center.  The thing that surprised us most was that the downtown seemed largely abandoned.  When I think of downtowns, I think of crowded spaces, cars parallel parked along the street, making them narrower, lots of stoplights/signs, lots of one-way streets, lots of pedestrians.  Even in small towns--like here, in University Town, or in Ithaca, or my hometown--and definitely in the downtowns of larger cities, the downtown area followed this general pattern.  Niagara Falls, NY was nothing like that.  It didn't help that the visitor's center was right across the street from a boarded up hotel (click to enlarge):

(courtesy of Wikipedia commons)

We were able to pull up into a space just a block away from the visitor center.  We were one of two cars on the street.  We were wondering if the visitor's center was even open.  It was brand new--the ceiling was unfinished, with missing ceiling tiles, and there was no decor, just plain white floors and walls.  And besides three ladies behind the desk, my husband and I were the only ones there.  There was just one, small, shelf with pamphlets.  Of course, all the maps and such were only for Niagara Falls, NY.  Any area maps for Niagara Falls, ON (Ontario, Canada), were non-existent.

I asked one of the ladies at the desk where the Cave of the Winds (one of the attractions on the NY side) was.   She gave unclear directions and was unable to tell me travel time/distance  (isn't it the point of a visitor information center to know these things?) but did tell me that one of the elevators to the Cave of the Winds was broken, and that the wait in line was about 3 hours.

I was hoping to get across by border by 6 o'clock, so we decided to go first thing in the morning, instead of that evening.  Since we had some time before then, we decided to walk down to the Falls.

It was confusing, since the visitor's center was not shown on the map that I had been given, nor was the map to scale (it was a cartoony park map).  It was also confusing because there was no one around.  No one.  It was alike we were in a ghost town.  Besides the shuttered hotel, we walked past an abandoned shopping center.  We found the intersection where the park should have been, according to the map, but we didn't see an entrance.  We DID see a large 9 story building that had "Gateway to the Falls" in large neon letters--like you would see at a car dealership.  We were skeptical:  it looked like an abandoned office building.  The sides were entirely glass, and did look very nice at first glance.  However, through the glass on the sides, we could see on the upper floors had exposed wiring and parts of the ceiling was falling down.  We didn't know what else to do, so we went in.  It was shelves of cheap souvenirs and a food court.  But at least this was the first place we had been that had a bit of a crowd.

The stairs to the second floor was cordoned off, and there were cardboard cutouts of Elvis and Marilyn Monroe at the top of the steps.  There were signs that said "Observation Tower: Free!", so we got into the elevator for the top floor.  We stepped out onto a bare linoleum space with a few wooden park benches and pay binoculars along the one side.  It was humid and had a strange smell.  My husband said: "It smells like  pee."   We went over to the window to look out, and AH! there was the entrance to the park--it was behind the building!  We quickly went back downstairs and out to the park.

So this was where everyone was!  Surprisingly, there was no admission to the park.  We were able to walk right through the Niagara Falls Park Visitors Center (which was different from the Niagara Falls (city) Visitor's Center, where we were just at) and out the other side to see the water.

Here's a picture of the rapids (for all photos, click to enlarge):

Leading to the American Falls (the skyline in the distance is Niagara Falls, ON):

The drop-off, up close:

It was just awesome.

We were there for a little while.  My husband bought me fruit flavored Dippin' Dots (strange tasting when they were solid, as it melted, the flavors mixed to a nice fruit punch), and we went back to the car, and headed across the border.

It was an easy crossing, fairly quick.  But once we were across the border, it was like night and day.  Niagara Falls, ON was like Disneyland.  The streets were lined with all sorts of shops and restaurants, and there were plenty of people.  As you can see from the skyline in the previous pictures, there was no shortage of hotels and attractions on the ON side.

Our hotel was easy to find.  Check-in was efficient.  Our room was wonderful.  We didn't quite have a "fallsview" room--our room overlooked the rapids and the city, but it was a nice view, nonetheless.  The front desk even called up as we were starting to unpack to make sure we were satisfied with our room.   We stayed at the Doubletree Resort and Spa.  Expedia gave it their "Insider's Select 2010" award.  It definitely lived up to its reputation.

We had reserved a dinner table at a Fallsview restaurant: The Keg at the Embassy Suites.  It was for 8:30pm--they illumiate the Falls starting at 9pm in the summer, and I wanted to catch that moment.  We showered, put on dinner clothes, then walked the few blocks to the Embassy Suites.  I wanted to be extra sure we got a window seat, so we got there early, at 8pm.  To our surprise (it was the week after the 4th of the July--normally one of the busiest weeks of the tourist season), we were seated right away, and at a table next to the window.

This was my view:

That's right...I was seated directly across from the Horseshoe Falls.

There was also the view of the American Falls:

Now see that square glass building with the banners on the side, just left of middle?   Let's zoom in:

And zoom again:

This was the "Gateway to the Falls" that we had gone into earlier--the one with the observation deck that smelled like pee.  Notice the random blackened windows.  Also notice behind it, to the right, the empty parking garage of the shuttered mall.  

But...back to dinner.   Since it was only 8, and we had to have our dinner last to 9, until the lights came on we took our time, ordering everything from appetizer to dessert.

Appetizer: Fried calamari.  (No pic)  It was very lightly breaded (a good thing), and came with two little dishes one of spicy red sauce (Sriracha/Rooster Sauce based?) and one of a ginger sauce.  Yum.

Salad:  Cesar salad, with a fresh lemon wedge!

Entree:  Prime rib, with au jus and horseradish, baked potato, and sautéed mushrooms and broccoli.

It's supposedly Medium Well--they do say that you're supposed to tell by temperature, not by color--but I'm not so sure.  It didn't taste bloody, so I didn't complain.  I quite enjoyed it.  My husband had sirloin steak, which he liked as well.  

Desserts: Brownie sundae (me) and Creme brulee (him)

I had to take half of that brownie home.  

We stayed until after 9:30, I think. I spent most of that entire meal looking out the window.   I don't have pics of the Falls lit up--there was too much glare from the indoor lights on the window.  It was nice, though, watching the colors change. 

There was a lady, going from table to table, carrying a basket of roses.  My husband bought me one.  I thought it was absolutely sweet of him.

We took a short stroll around the hotel area, and saw a raccoon digging around in the grass along the sidewalk.  On the way back, there was a pirate, on stilts, making balloon animals, in front of a seafood restaurant.  We saw a gang of Mennonites.   

It was a fine day.

Niagara Falls road trip! Part 1

A week after I finished my summer class, my husband came to see me, and we went on Summer Road trip 2010!

NEW YORK:  Corning and Ithaca

I felt a little bad because I planned every day in advance: I reserved the hotels ahead of time, picked the restaurants, printed out the routes.  I didn't want to become a micro-manager.  But it all ended all right, and I think, let us be more relaxed for the actual vacation.

It began on a Saturday afternoon. I packed a snack--I even planned the snack: baby carrots, prunes, a lunch cup of mixed fruit--and headed to pick up my husband from the Capitol Airport.  Then it was to the mall in Capitol City to buy him a new pair of shoes (no sales tax on clothing and shoes in my state!).  The store was really neat--specializing in comfort shoes--the saleslady looked like she was a high school student, but she was very friendly and knowledgeable.  And, I got my feet digitally analyzed!

The next day, I finally got to take my husband to the church here, and introduce him to the people I knew.  Sunday was July 4th--so we grabbed my throw blanket, bought some sub sandwiches, and went to the university to sit, have a picnic dinner, and watch the fireworks.

Monday began our trip to Corning, NY.  I had been to the Glass Museum a couple of years before, when my brother had graduated from Cornell, in Ithaca, NY.  I wanted to show the museum to my husband.  They had a new collection from the last time I had visited.  I enjoyed the new collection more than the previous time.  I got a good refresher, and my husband, I think, got a better appreciation of how glass is made.  I would *still* go back again.  Oh, and the Steuben glassware talked about in the TV show Archer on FX--that's made in Corning, NY (and also owned by Corning Inc.).

That night, we stayed in Ithaca, NY, about a 45 min drive away from Corning.  The evening was a little disappointing.

There aren't many places to stay in Ithaca.  I had booked at a Best Western, with a chance to get a queen bed, or a double bed.  When we got there, there were only rooms with double beds available.  It was an older hotel, a little rough around the edges, but comfortable enough.

We had dinner at the Moosewood Cafe.  It was one of the first vegetarian restaurants to open in the 1970's, and I've cooked a couple of recipes from their cookbooks in the past, which I enjoyed.  I was looking forward to going to the place that started it all.  We had a good meal.  But it wasn't anything special, either.  The service was slow.  There were no free refills on anything besides water.  My husband had a Caribbean rice and beans dish.  I had a curry.  It was a little bland for a curry.  The portions were on the smaller side considering the prices.  Both of us cleared our plates.  My husband said he liked the meal, and that it was filling, but that best part was the bread basket (it IS local fresh baked bread).  It wasn't a bad experience, but it was a so-so experience.  I wouldn't recommend a special trip to go there.  I'll just stick to their cookbooks.

I couldn't sleep for part of the night.  I ended up spending a couple of hours surfing the web on my iPhone.

The next day was much better.  We had breakfast at the hotel.  We then drove/walked around the Cornell area of Ithaca a little, and took pictures of the bridges and gorges and waterfalls.

Unfortunately, all I have at the moment is this pic of one of the smaller waterfalls.  This year, there were 6 suicides at Cornell with students jumping off bridges.  The city/school has therefore put tall chain-link fencing around all the bridges.  My camera wouldn't fit through the holes of the chain link to take photos of the larger waterfalls.  My husband has a pocket-sized camera though, and so we did take some photos of the more spectacular falls.  (Though, for your enjoyment, here's a link to Cascadilla Falls)  I just don't have access to them at the moment, since his camera is now back with him in Metro.  

We then visited the Cayuga Nature Center, just outside Ithaca, and their 6 story tree house!  And yes, we took the stairs to the very top.

The nature center also had some live animals--turtles, snakes and lizards indoors.  Outdoors, there some hawks, some peacocks, and a fox.  There were baby peacocks the day we visited.  It was fun seeing them follow their mother around the pen.  

Then, it was to Taughannock Falls, just down the road from the nature center.  The falls are taller by 33 feet than Niagara:

Then before leaving to get back on the road, we lunched at another Ithaca-area hotspot, the Glenwood Pines.  They're known for their Pinesbuger:  A cheeseburger served on french bread, dressed with Thousand Island dressing (instead of mayo or ketchup):

I would say that it was the Best Cheeseburger I Ever Ate.  

Thus started the custom for the rest of the trip, of me sitting in restaurant, next to window on my right side, overlooking the water.  Glenwood Pines feels like it was a converted double-wide.  However, it has a nice patio in the back, and it overlooks Lake Cayuga.  

On to Niagara Falls!

Back again--Part 2

Classes are over for the summer.  All that's left are finals on Monday, and then I have to turn in the grades, but that shouldn't be too much work.  I suspect I'll get a few e-mails on Monday and Tuesday, after grades are posted, with people wondering about their grades.  I really hope that it is nothing major, that is, I hope I don't have to deal with many upset students.

I've been thinking, too, that this experiment--this blog--is almost over, too.  I started last August, and July is coming up fast.  I'm somewhat in a state of disbelief that this blog has lasted as long as it has.  I have 55 posts so far, which averages a post a week over the entire year.  It's half as much posting as I originally intended, which was 2 posts a week.  I still feel good though.  I've never kept a diary of any sort for so long--I used to always be amazed, absolutely amazed, by those who could keep diaries.  I never had the discipline, or the interest.  Yet, here I am.  

The blog has served its purpose.  I find words coming to me much easier now.  I think teaching helped, too, having to get up in front of people everyday and making sure the thoughts that were in my head came out of my head in coherent sentences.  It's one thing to read.  It's another to craft those words together yourself, and not just take in what another has put together.  

Teaching  has been a good experience.  I do like having the schedule.  I like having a goal each day--this is the lesson plan!  It wrecked my sleep schedule--I would go to bed at 1 am, wake up at 5 am to prep for my 9:30am class, then around 3 o'clock or so, come home, sleep until 7 or 8 pm, wake up and be awake until 1 am....and wake again at 5 am.   It was a strange schedule, but I adapted, and towards the end, felt well rested each day.  It was confusing at first, I must admit.  I'd wake up, and wouldn't be sure if something happened yesterday, or the day before yesterday.  I had been used to marking my days by when I went to sleep, and when I was sleeping twice in one day, it threw that system out of whack.

I think my stomach is also thankful that classes are over.  Towards the end, I thought for a while that I was getting an ulcer.  

People have asked me, what grade would you give yourself?  I think I'd give myself a C.  I was not the most prepared teacher.  I think there might have been things that I explained better.  I think I might have incorporated more activities into classes, made it not be as lecture oriented.  But I went over all the material that I needed to go over.   And my students' exams have averaged around a 76%--right where the average needs to be.  I think I did expand over and above the book a little bit, so that I was not redundant.  And, as far as I know, no went marching over to the dean's office to complain about my teaching.  So, I give myself a C.  We'll see, later, if the teacher evaluations agree with my own assessment.

Besides classes, not much has been going on.  The only thing worth mentioning is that a few weeks ago, after taking my car through the automatic car wash, I was double checking the hood, and I noticed several small rust spots.  They have been repaired, and as always, I had to make it into a project: 1000 grit sandpaper for the rust, primer, touch up paint, 2000 grit sandpaper, polishing compound.  That's five different items I purchased for 4 rust spots, each the size of the tip of a ballpoint pen.  I don't know why I go overboard on everything, and yet, if I don't, I feel like I haven't done enough.  

It took 2 weeks to do everything.  I applied a coat of touch of paint every night for a week.  But before that, of course, each day, I'd go out to my car with a bucket and a sponge, wash off the dirt from the hood, dry it, and then, after that, I'd apply a tiny dot of paint to each spot.  My neighbors, I'm sure, now know me as the girl with OCD about washing the hood of her car.  This is what happens when you live in an apartment complex with no A/C and it seems, a third of the residents having toddlers that like to go outside as the sun sets.  

I now own way too much paint:  paints for the suitcase project, paints for the purse project (6 bottles!), and now, two more paints for my car (paint and primer).  

And finally:  Squirrel!

It's a piebald squirrel.  I usually only see one or two a year.  This was taken with my new camera, handheld, at 17X zoom. 

(Apparently some towns celebrate the fact that they are the home to colonies of white squirrels  or black squirrels )

The penny remains.  

Summer starts

Last week was the last week of the semester.  I turned in my last paper on Monday, and then I mostly took the rest of the week off.  I got a haircut, watched "How to Train Your Dragon" (my first current generation 3D movie), and did heaps of laundry, as I put away all my winter clothes and took out the spring wardrobe.

Of course, last week, it was sunny, with temperatures in the high 70's, low 80's.  Today, it's dark and rainy, and in the 40's.  I had to turn the heat on, again, and I'm dressed in layers.

I had high hopes going to see "How to Train Your Dragon."  I had spoken with several people, and read reviews, all with positive things to say, and who said that the 3D was well worth it.  I enjoyed the movie--it was a cute, feel-good, kids movie.  However, the 3D did not agree with me--I found it uncomfortable to view, and in the end, I had a mild headache.  I was a bit surprised, as I had thought that this new generation of 3D had fixed the problem of nausea and headaches that the old generation red-and-blue-glasses type of 3D had been known to cause.  It might have been due to the type of 3D--I believe the type used in my showing was XpandD, and not the polarized RealD glasses.  I do know that when I put the glasses on before the start of the show and was looking around the theater, I noticed that it made it look like the sconces were flickering.

I hadn't cooked in a long time.  On Friday I made a chicken pot pie, and a black bean soup.  The soup was black beans, diced onions, and chopped tomatoes and potatoes, with a chicken broth base.  I had completely forgotten how fun cooking could be.

Once again, it was based off a Dean Ornish recipe.  Next time, I will add corn.

The end of semesters are always times when I feel open to possibilities.  For the summer, I'm thinking of working on my photography more seriously.  I think I'm going to get a book on composition from the library, and see if I can't photograph along with the chapters of the book.  And maybe...start posting twice a week again.

I'll be teaching my first class the first summer session.  Next week will be spent preparing.  And then I start the week after that.  I hope all goes well.

The penny remains.

Rainy season

It's begun to rain in Universtiy Town. Summer is close. I remember when I first came to University Town, it was late summer, and every time I needed to go out, it was raining. It was for the summers that I purchased a pair of "Aqua socks" type shoes for walking to school.

I apologize for not posting last week. I was working on a report. This week is not looking much better...it's the last week of school. I've got two reports and two presentations due this week.

Around April 9th or so, I started working on the cleaning and retouching of my handbag. I've got it cleaned with the Leatherique, and now I'm working on recoloring the discolored spots--I purchased Tarrago shoe polish in "Pastel Blue." I never realized they sold shoe polish in so many colors, but am very happy that they do.

Last week, buffing the polish into my handbag was something of stress relief. If I needed a few minutes break, I took a microfiber cloth, and just buffed. The shoe polish smelled very much like a strong hand cream, not like traditional shoe polish.

I'm still trying to get the color in some of the spots just right. I purchased a stamping ink--Colorbox pigment dye--from Michael's, and now I'm trying to find Memories brand dye ink. I've been taking pictures. I plan to put up the entire process in one post when I'm done. I'm happy the way things are turning out, and I'm happy that it's something of a long process--it gives me a little something to do, something to keep me interested, something to learn. I mean, there is probably an easier and faster way to do what I'm doing, but I like the feeling of accomplishment as I muddle along.

I did find this guide helpful: Restoring Damaged Leather Handbags & Products To Use. The guide recommended a shoe polish brand and a seller--I went to the seller's store, and though I didn't find the brand of shoe polish that was recommended, it was how I found out about the Tarrago brand of polish.

I received a very sweet anniversary card from my husband yesterday.  It's going into my permanent collection.

Other than that, I got a wireless keyboard: the Logitech K350. I'm using it now, with my laptop, and I'm finding it to be lightweight (the keyboard is resting on my lap, while the laptop is on a stand) and the ergonomic "wave" design to be comfortable.

Yesterday, I was making spaghetti, and accidentally knocked the box off the counter. It made a beautiful mess.

I thought it looked structural:

From underneath:

And the same, taken with flash:

The penny remains.

Photo dump: Signs of Spring

By reader request:  photos of springtime in University Town

2010-04-12 Spring

Happy Easter

Happy Easter/Resurrection Sunday!

It's been a good holiday.  Last week I sent out Easter cards, and everyone received them.  I got to talk to all my card recipients, and I was thanked by all of them.  The highlight of the evening was having a nice talk with my parents.

As for earlier this week, I received my anniversary handbag in the mail.  I had gotten it off e-bay, and while it didn't seem so much in the picture, it seems that the bag was either well-loved, or not loved at all.  It was a little disappointing, but also inspiring--I have another project!  I did some research on automotive leather products, and eventually ordered two products by Leatherique--the Rejuvenator Oil and Pristine Clean.  Eventually I hope to post "before/during/after" photos.

I felt a little silly, because the leather cleaning products cost as much as the handbag, more if you count the shipping.  Did I really just double the price of my handbag?  Eventually I came to the conclusion that it's a separate project.  I wouldn't have problems with wearing the new handbag as is.  I've got other handbags that could use a little cleaning.  Plus, I have leather gloves that could use some TLC before I put them away for the summer.

And gloves!  I've taken out my unlined leather gloves for spring.  And now that it's after Easter, I can bring out the white ones and the pastels.  I'll wear them over my freshly cleaned rings.

I've been eating out of boxes, bags, and cans, it seems, for a while.  I started cooking again.  Yesterday, I made a flourless chocolate cake.  The recipe was from the Whole Foods website.  I bought a springform pan specially for the occasion.

I used Hershey's Special Dark chocolate chips, as well as their Special Dark cocoa powder.  I only used 1 cup of sugar, instead of the 1 and 1/4 cup in the recipe.  Also, I partly used liquid egg whites--I had the equivalent of 3 eggs worth of liquid whites in my refrigerator.  I thought I had enough for the entire recipe, but then my carton was empty, and I had to run to the store to buy (regular) eggs to finish the mix.  Luckily, the store had them in stock.  (I have been to a store where the eggs sold out on the evening before Easter.) I guess that's the danger of using liquid eggs.

Here it is 1) right out of the oven, 2) with the glaze on top, and 3) with a slice removed.  And yes, the cake deflated a little when it cooled.

The cake was brownie-like.  It was dense and moist, and the texture was somewhat crumbly in the mouth.  The inside of my refrigerator now smells like chocolate cake.  

The penny remains.

Calm week

It has been a calm week.

I got my first (and only?) Easter card this week.   Getting cards from people makes me happy, so I kept my Christmas cards displayed on top of my TV until I got Valentine's cards, and then I threw out my two Valentine's cards when I got my Easter card.  I don't know how long I should keep my Easter card displayed--until Pentecost, maybe?--because I do think it would be a little silly keeping it until Christmas, which is the next time I expect to get cards again.

It's been gray and rainy and windy.  Temperatures are in the 40's, but a warm front is supposed to move in tomorrow, so that on Friday, temps will be almost 80!

I've found a blog dedicated to the subject of hosting parties: http://www.hostessblog.com/   It's part of the larger "Hostess with the Mostess" website.

It's also my anniversary this week--the third year, or leather.  I was not to buy any frivolous things during Lent, but I took an exception, and got a new handbag.

On one of the lawns on campus, a wooden "flower" sculpture.

And in one of the greenhouses, tulips:

February photo dump

The blog's name has become a misnomer:  I've been posting much less frequently than twice a week.  I've been called on that.  And I'd like to apologize to my readers.  I have an excuse--my classes this semester have a much heavier homework load than last semester.  That, and this blog has in a way accomplished what it's purpose was--to help me write.  When I think, I ask, "How would I say it if I were writing it?"  I used to think as writing when I was in high school. I framed my life as a story, and I tried to write it as I went along living it.  At some point I stopped writing it, just lived it, I guess, in a world without words, just images and experiences.  Once I started blogging, it forced me to start thinking about my life as a written story again.

But those are excuses, and I don't much care for excuses.  Instead of twice a week, I'll try posting once a week until the semester ends.

So now, photos.  Click to enlarge.
On campus, video game art done on a window, with Post-It notes.  It was snowing when I took the photo, so sorry for the snowflakes:

A close-up of the Spelunker guy:

Anyone know if the drawings at the bottom are original or if they also reference a video game?

Then, on the edge of campus, someone decided to create a bunch of snow people.
First, a teacher followed by students holding a rope (an more snowkids in the background):

A snowman in a headdress:

Then a couple of snowpeople who met violent ends:

And a shark attack:

The penny remains.

Cooking: Chinese New Year, Lent photo dump

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year went well.  My husband and I both cooked for New Year's, he in Metro, me here.  It's our version of spending time together.

I had to make red bean sticky cake (nian-gao).  It's traditional, it's nostalgic, it's good.  It's pretty much mochi, with sweetened red bean paste mixed in.

Traditionally, the cake is cooked by steaming it, but my I don't have a pot big enough to fit a pie pan.  (Also, I don't have a pie pan.)  It also takes 2-4 hours to steam.

My mom came up with a baked version of the sticky-cake.   She makes this cake by feel, but she sent me the approximate recipe:


Red bean cake
-------------------------
one can WEI-PAC  sweeetend red bean paste
one box Machiko  KODA FARMS
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C oil   ( either veg, corn,  or canola)
2 and 1/4 C water

Mix all together.  Line 13x9 pan with regular aluminum foil, oil the foil.(don't flour it) Pour in and bake at 400F for 35-40 minutes.
Do not preheat the oven.

After the cake is done, sprinkle some water on the top and put a damp kitchen paper towel on the top.  Cover it with aluminum foil and let it cool.  The cake top is dry after you you bake it.  Putting the damp towel on top and covering it will make the top of the cake soft.
------------------------

I made the cake last year, and it didn't turn out so well.  It glued itself to the pan, and the only way I could get it out was to cut out the middle of the cake, leaving the bottom and edges stuck to the pan.

This year, I changed the recipe.  Instead of the oil, I put in one egg, and instead of regular aluminum foil, I used non-stick foil.

Here it is out of the oven. (I sampled a piece of the corner):

The top came out drier than I liked.  It is NOT supposed to be this cracked looking.  Not even the damp paper towel trick worked to smooth it out.  Otherwise, the texture was fine, and luckily, the cake is supposed to be served upside down.

The cake did not stick to the foil at all, and the result was a pretty reddish cake:

I am spatially challenged, and cannot cut cakes into equal sized 10ths.   Otherwise, success!

My husband make the cake per the recipe, and he said that his came out just fine.  Next year, I am going to have to tweak the recipe again.  Maybe bake it in a water bath?

Noodles are another traditional food for New Year's--the long noodles are supposed to represent long life.  A third traditional food is fish--in Chinese, the word for fish is a homophone to the word for surpluses.  (There are other foods too, but I decided that three dishes were enough for me!)

For the noodles, I made otsu--a spicy soba noodle and tofu dish, from a recipe I found from 101cookbooks.  I made a simple steamed fish, the recipe found here,  and I got to use the steamer on my rice cooker for the first time!

Here's the plate, with a side of steamed spinach at the top:

A couple of days later,  I realized that my meal was Lent friendly, too!

Chinese New Year was Sunday, that Wednesday was Ash Wednesday.  It's nice when lunar calendars match up, no?


Ash Wednesday

For Ash Wednesday, I made another Dr. Ornish dish, chickpea stew:

Besides chickpeas, it has green and red peppers, diced tomato, zucchini, onion, and the orange bits you see?  That's sweet potato.  It was served over a bed of basmati rice, with a side of cucumber mint yogurt, and a dessert of orange slices baked in a syrup of orange juice, honey and cinnamon.

I probably had too much fun making this than was proper for an Ash Wednesday.

A New Year Thought

I have been a very fortunate individual this past year.

I was doing laundry while cooking on Chinese New Year.  I had two bags of laundry, so I was carrying one laundry bag in one hand, detergent in my other hand, and the second laundry bag I hung over my wrist.  When I returned to my cooking, I noticed that my wrist was a little red.  And then I noticed something else--this was the first time in a year that I was staring at my wrist with a knife in my hand.

You see, last year at this time, I was not in good spirits.  Last year, what I decided to give up for Lent was thoughts of cutting myself--I was only mostly successful.  It was not a good winter.   Now, the same time, one year later, and I had not thought about self-harm once--not even once! the entire winter.  In fact, I was doing so well that I hadn't even noticed that I had not been thinking of harming myself.  How cool is that?

A concluding photo, from Chinese New Year day:  a two pronged icicle.

A closer look at the point where it splits:

(The penny remains.)

Photo dump: change in weather

It's been a strange winter. Normally, here in University Town, it will start snowing in November, and the snow will stay on the ground until about March. Excepting the October snow (blogged about earlier) it's been a dry winter. Up until about two weeks ago, University Town looked like this:



Photos above from February 1st. It was nice and green, although the temperatures were in the 20's.

Five days later, on the 6th, University Town got 16" of snow.  Here's my walkway:


And my car:


The snow was up to my knees, and for the first time, I had to shovel the top of my car.

 It took about 45 minutes to get the car out.  And I also had help from a neighbor.

The surprising thing is, a few days later, in far away Metro, they got over 12.5" inches of snow--where typically, they don't get ANY snow in the winter. I heard that it was the most snow that Metro had ever gotten in a single day.

It's snowing again, in University Town, tonight, with snow in the forecast all week.  At least everything is back to normal.

(The penny remains)

January, a review in food

Since this is partly a food blog, I thought I should take another look at January from a gastronomical angle as well.

By January, I was getting sick of food.  I had gained 6 pounds in the last two weeks of December, and was starting to feel it.

The New Year Festivities
My husband and I had been invited to a New Year's party at our old college town.  We left Metro in the morning, arriving in town shortly after noon.  Food for the New Year started with a trip to S___'s Beefmasters, for lunch.  The smallest cut of steak they offer is 14 oz, which is their lunch special.  In most places, a 14 oz would be considered a large.  For me, 4 oz is a meal.  Since I didn't want to waste good meat, I ordered a chicken fried steak, instead (which normally uses a poorer cut of meat).  It was still huge, but I didn't feel bad leaving half of it on the plate.

I, therefore, arrived at the New Year's party full.  It was funny, as we arrived just as a group of party go-ers were leaving to go eat dinner.  Even funnier was that they were going to Texas Roadhouse (another steak place), as it was something of a treat for them.  It was ironic--in University Town, I live 0.2 miles from a Texas Roadhouse.

While our hotel was newly remodeled and comfortable, it didn't have much in the way of food--it only had a cafe that was open in the day.  I was hungry by the time we came back from the party at 9, and could only get some peanuts, which they sold in the lobby.

Breakfast was also only so-so--plastic wrapped danishes and bottles of milk.  It was complimentary, however, so I have no complaints.  It's my understanding that the hotel will have improvements in this area with its new management.  I wouldn't mind staying there again.

As we were leaving the hotel, my husband remembered that we had left a piece of steak from the day before in the in-room mini-fridge.  (He had ordered a large steak, and had taken the leftover back to the hotel with us.)

On the way back into Metro, I asked for Italian for lunch.  We found Marsala Italian Restaurant, in a small town outside of Metro. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but it's nicer inside, with dark painted walls and skylights.  The food was very good.  We both finished our entrees, and then ordered another set of entrees to take home.

As I mentioned before, by this time, I was getting tired of food.  For our last meal together before returning to University Town, we went to Olive Garden, where I consumed an entire bowl of their salad, and only ordered some pasta as my "main dish", because I needed a little something to accompany the salad.

University Town
Upon returning to University Town, I felt out of sorts.  I had to search for my key to open the door to my apartment.  And when cooking again, the knife felt strange in my hand, even though I had cooked for Christmas and helped with New Year's Eve dinner.

I was relieved to finally be away from restaurant food, and holiday food.  For my first meal in University Town, I pulled my copy of Everyday Cooking with Dr. Dean Ornish--a low-fat vegetarian cookbook--off the shelf.  I selected Hoppin' John (a black-eyed peas and rice dish), perfect for New Year's.

That followed with a vegetable pot pie (to which I did add a can of chunk chicken), and cabbage stuffed with lentils and basmati rice.  I hadn't been a fan of the cookbook earlier--I had tried two recipes, and only one turned out well--but this time, the recipes have turned out really well.  Since then, I've written in the book's margins, and put in sticky notes.  The pages are now a little warped from when I've dripped water on them while cooking.  In other words, this book is becoming beloved.  Since returning to University Town, I've only had one bad recipe from the book--a recipe for collard greens, tomatoes, green peppers, and onions (in my opinion, it should have been just collard greens, and a little onion and garlic)--and all the ingredients have been common, easily found ingredients.

Here's the pot pie.  I used puff pastry for the top, and a frozen pie shell for the bottom.


Latke FAIL
My two most recent recipes from Dr. Ornish were a cabbage and beet borscht, and potato pancakes (latkes).  I was unprepared for the amount of chopping required for them.  It took me three hours(!) to make those two dishes.  I was exhausted at the end, and the latkes were a major FAIL.

I made the latke batter, blanching, then hand grating the potatoes, but I took so long, the potatoes turned a muddy brown.  I started frying them in a cast iron griddle, with just enough oil to coat the surface of the pan, but the latkes weren't looking anything like they were supposed to look.  I had put in liquid egg whites (remember this is low-fat cooking), but they didn't mix with the dough at all, instead forming a watery puddle under the shredded potatoes.  In frustration I went to look up latke recipes online.  Turns out, the Ornish cookbook left out one important step--squeezing out the potatoes.  That was why I had shredded potatoes floating in "soup".  I went ahead and poured out all the liquid and squeezed the pototoes--losing both the water and the liquid egg whites--then poured the egg whites back in (this time, half of what the recipe asked).  I also added some additional flour and baking powder to get a less watery consistency to my batter.  I then used a regular frying pan, poured in oil to a 1/4 inch depth, and dropped in the latke batter.  This time, they fried nicely, but with a strange overall color, due to the muddy colored batter.

I put them in between layers of paper towels and left them overnight, to drain the oil.

Next time, I'll try baking them. (425 degrees for 10-15 minutes on one side. Brush with oil, flip, return to oven for another 10-15 min.)  I'll also try beating the egg whites until they stiffen.

Weight Loss
Generally, I am oblivious to my weight, and simply eat until I am no longer hungry.  But six pounds in two weeks seemed a excessive to me.  Upon returning to University Town, I purchased a bathroom scale, and started a food diary at MyFitnessPal.com (I downloaded their iPhone app.).  

I really liked MyFitnessPal--it was fun and easy to use.  I would recommend it if anyone is looking for a calorie tracker.

I'm not sure how much it helped.  I always used the tracker after I ate, so I didn't really make any changes to my diet because I was using it.  Also, I found that either I have a faster metabolism than they calculated, or I am not measuring my food correctly--I have lost weight faster than they predicted.

I realized too, after two weeks of eating out, that portion distortion does happen.  I was surprised, at first, at how little it looked like I was eating, compared to what I had been eating over the holidays.

I have returned to my pre-vacation weight, which is a relief.  I am also feeling much better.

The penny remains.