birthday cake!

I am a little reluctant to blog about cake because I know that Carolyn will be reading this, and since I've been promising her a baking lesson since around December, she might be a tad upset that I went ahead and baked without her. But trust me Carolyn, this cake was a recipe from my Cakelove cookbook, aka high maintenance cakes.

Drew likes anything with nuts and since hazelnuts are his favorite, I baked him a hazelnut sponge cake with a hazelnut crunch buttercream.

So like I said, the recipe is from Cakelove. Cakelove is a nice enough cookbook, but the cakes are sort of high maintenance, so I've dubbed the cookbook my "special occasion cookbook." Seeing as how I've only baked two cakes from it and they've both been for Drew, I guess that this is a "Drew cookbook." The cakes are pretty good, but the recipes tend to call for ingredients that I just don't always have on hand, like brandy or rum. And despite what you may have heard about me, I don't have hard liquor just laying around. Actually, I just lied to you. I think I do have some small bottles of brandy and rum laying around in my spice drawer.

Anyway, for this cake, I toasted hazelnuts, removed their skins, and ground them up with powdered sugar to make a hazelnut powder. The buttercream is unlike any frosting I've made before. Rather than beating together butter and powdered sugar, I simmered milk with the hazelnuts, strained the nuts, and whipped the milk mixture with egg yolks, hazelnut liqueur, and brown sugar. Then I slowly beat in a pound of butter (I'm not kidding you). Finally, I added in toasted, crushed hazelnuts. The buttercream was light and fluffy, despite there being a pound of butter in it. I like knowing how to make buttercream with butter and egg yolks. I usually make buttercream with butter and powdered sugar, and that yields a denser frosting. So, it's nice to have an alternative that's lighter.

The cake turned out wonderful and smelled divine. I'm not gonna lie- I felt like a badass baker after baking it.

san diego

Drew and I went to San Diego last weekend to eat good pizza and celebrate his birthday. I have decided that I have a love-hate relationship with San Diego. I love San Diego and all the things to see and eat, but I hate navigating the roads. We didn't get lost, but we made plenty of wrong turns.

We started the day in Old Town, which is this historic section of San Diego that's been reincarnated as a tourist attraction. It's very tourist-y but still fun to walk around and duck in and out of the little shops.

Below is Cousin's Candy Shop, which is reason enough to go to Old Town. Even if you have no desire to go to Old Town, at least go for the candy. The shop is small and has an assortment of taffy, chocolate covered nuts, jelly beans, and lots more of course. The best part is the fudge- it is rich, creamy, and simply heavenly. We tried the pecan praline and the snickers, but we'll be back to try the others.

Later in the evening, we went to the National Comedy Theater for some good laughs. If you are in the area, I recommend this show. It's cheap- just a couple dollars more than a movie. More importantly, it's really quite funny and entertaining. The show is totally improvised and relies upon audience feedback. There are two teams of performers, playing games and competing against one another to garner the most laughs. The format is similar to Whose Line is it Anyway?

The next day, we headed to Bronx Pizza in search of good New York style pizza. (I should tell you that we had already eaten at Pizzeria Luigi the night before, a great New York style pizza place that I raved about in an earlier post) I guess you could call this the battle of the pizzas. Bronx Pizza did not disappoint, and the pizza was infinitely better than most anything I've eaten in Orange County. (however, Drew and I decided that we still prefer Pizzeria Luigi) Bronx Pizza was cute and low key; there were loads of Yankees memorabilia on the wall. (I snapped pictures for Drew, but I can't bring myself to post them here)

We also walked around Hillcrest and ate cupcakes at Babycakes. The only downside to Babycakes is that it is not in Orange County. It is this cute little coffeeshop by day and what looks to be a wine bar by night. (we went in the afternoon, so we don't really know what goes on at night) The cupcakes look too good to eat, but we ate them anyway. I think that these were the best cupcakes that I've ever eaten (and I've had my fair share). We had a hazelnut and a peanut butter and jelly cupcake. They were moist, and the buttercream was nice and thick.

Okay, that's all folks.

mlk and milk

If you recall, last Monday was Martin Luther King, Jr. day. There were some ceremonies honoring and remembering King, we didn't have classes, the banks were closed, the post offices were closed, the public library was closed, and we didn't get mail that day. Despite these closures, our daily routines continued and for lots of people, MLK day probably went by unnoticed.

So I'm using MLK day to talk about Harvey Milk. Milk was the first openly gay man to be elected to political office in the United States. This was in the 1970s, probably way before anyone dreamed of lobbying for same-sex marriage. You are probably more familiar with Milk because of the eponymous movie, starring Sean Penn.

At the end of last summer, the California State Assembly passed legislation to create a Harvey Milk Day. (I think that it's slated to be May 22) Of course, there was opposition, presumably because some people think that having a day to honor Milk means that now kids are going to learn how to have gay sex in school. (never mind that most current sex ed curriculums barely cover hetero sex, but that's for a different blog post) When I was reading coverage about the Milk Day legislation and its opposition, I thought of Martin Luther King, Jr. If Milk day is anything like MLK day, it will most likely go by unnoticed. Sure, there will be ceremonies and kids might get a superficial lesson on discrimination and equal rights, but Milk day, like MLK day, will hardly be earth shattering.

minnesota vikings

Drew and I got back from a weekend trip to San Diego (more on that later), and I did something completely out of character. I watched football. Sort of. The Minnesota Vikings were playing the New Orleans Saints for the NFC championship. Or AFC. I don't really know. All I know is that the winner goes to the Super Bowl.

I tuned in somewhere in the middle of the 2nd quarter, and I watched the 2nd half. I've never watched so much Vikings football in my entire life. I even cheered for Minnesota, even though I'm still bitter that the state decided to audit me. When Minnesota had the lead, I got a little hopeful and contemplated having a Super Bowl party. (I told Drew that I would make a tator tot hotdish for the occasion- hotdish is Minnesota speak for a casserole) My planning was premature- the lead went back and forth, but in the end, the Saints won in overtime.

I'm a little disappointed because the Vikings have never been to the Super Bowl in my lifetime. But a Super Bowl berth, with Brett Favre (you know, former Packer quarterback and former Viking arch nemesis) at the helm, would have been tainted. It would have been like a Super Bowl trip with an asterisk next to it. By the way, here is some interesting trivia: the Vikings and the Buffalo Bills are tied with the most Super Bowl appearances and no wins- at four.

not buying it addendum

I made blueberry muffins over the weekend, and they were really great, but that's only tangentially related to this post. When baking muffins and cupcakes, it is recommended that you use one of those fancy ice cream scoops with a spring release to scoop up the batter and deposit it into the muffin tins. I don't have one of these, so I improvise with regular spoons. Anyway, so I'm sitting there, reading Not Buying It, the book about the woman who doesn't buy anything for a year. And I turn to Drew and tell him that I think I'm going to go buy an ice cream scoop with a spring release so it's easier to bake muffins and cupcakes. And he starts laughing. Mind you, he's not being rude. It's just that the situation is so ironic. I'm reading a book about a woman's experience with eschewing overconsumption and here I want to buy a non-essential kitchen gadget. He knows that I already have a spring release scoop for cookie dough, and he asks why I don't just use that for mffins and cupcakes. It's too small, I say. I want a bigger one. More laughing.

(By the way, I actually paused to order two cookbooks from Amazon. What's going on with me? I actually took a time out from a blog post about frivolous spending to buy cookbooks that I probably don't need. Did I mention that between Drew and I, we got 3 cookbooks for Christmas? And I bought another cookbook the week after we got home? Oh, and I'm borrowing another one from a friend?)

So I was at Sur la Table yesterday, looking for an immersion blender. I know, I know, I should just get a food processor. It's just that it might be easier to have an immersion blender; less clean up, you know? Anyway, Sur la Table was sold out of the one I wanted and I wasn't about to hand over nearly $100 for the fancier models. I took a moment to price ice cream scoops with a spring release. They were $17. Damn. I guess I can continue improvising with my regular kitchen spoons.

(In case you're wondering, Drew got a vegan cookbook for Christmas and I got one on pies and another on tarts, quiches, and loaves. I'm borrowing a Moosewood cookbook, I bought Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar a couple weeks ago, and I just ordered Vegan Brunch and Vegan with a Vengeance)

not buying it

I'm in the middle of reading Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping by Judith Levine. It's this book about a woman who is frustrated and disgusted with consumerism, frivolous spending, and overconsumption. So she decides to take a year off from buying stuff, and she and her husband purchase only disposable and "necessary" items like food and shampoo. No new clothes, no movies, no dining out, nothing. It's an interesting book. She talks about how second nature buying stuff just is; it's like shopping is programmed into us or something. Levine also discusses how shopping has been justified because it makes people feel better, buying new stuff is a way to keep up with the Joneses, and how having new stuff makes us think that we are enhancing our experiences.

I've been thinking more about my spending and tried to cut down on frivolous spending. So far, it's not really working. In December, I took advantage of holiday sales and went out to buy clothes and kitchen gadgets, all under the pretense of Christmas shopping (for other people). And on New Year's Day, I went to the Bath and Body Works semi annual sale, which is practically a post-Christmas tradition. I budgeted $50 for such an event, but ended up spending $80. By the way, I had no business being in Bath and Body Works. I have lotion left over in the nine bottles purchased at LAST year's sale. And, I actually mentally inventoried the bottles in my office (2 full sized bottles of body cream and a Burt's Bees hand salve). I'm not exaggerating here.

You're probably wondering how one manages to spend nearly $100 at a store that sells primarily lotions, body creams, and other assorted bath products. Well, for one thing, I take advantage of the sale and stock up for the year. And I have an amazing ability to rationalize my purchases. Do I really need 4 containers of body butter? Well, yes. I need one for my backpack, one for my office, one for home, and one to spare. Do I need two bottles of shower gel (that will join my two bottles already in the shower)? Well, yes. I like the variety. See how this goes? Hey, I'm just proud of myself for staying away from the scented candles. (I'm not being virtuous here; it's just that I was already in the store in December and purchased 3)

It's amazing how we justify our extracurricular spending. On the way home from Bath and Body Works, I mentally rationalized my purchases. This is what went through my head: "hmmm, I don't get manicures or pedicures, I don't wear make up, I cut my hair only twice a year, so since I don't incur these other beauty expenses, it's okay if I spend a lot of money on scented lotions and body creams so that I have well-moisturized skin." It's interesting how we all have our shopping weaknesses, and in our own way, perpetuate our consumerist society. I suppose we're all to blame.

a celebrity citing

I saw Nastia Liukin last weekend. Chances are, you don't know who that is, and you think I just made that name up. But I didn't. Liukin is a U.S. gymnast and won the women's all around gymnastics title in the 2008 summer Olympics. I'm not certain that I would have recognized her on my own, but I had some help detecting her. On Saturday, Drew and I went up to watch a UCLA women's gymnastics meet. Liukin was outside the arena, posing for pictures with adoring fans. I love gymnastics (dabbled in it as a child), and I love the Olympics (opening ceremonies for the Winter Olympics are one month from tomorrow!). I bet you didn't know this about me. Good thing you read this blog!

143

I set a new personal best in bowling, and this deserves its own blog post. I have never, ever been good at bowling. I'm not even being modest here- I usually score in the 70s or maybe 80s. Sometimes, when I'm lucky I break 100, but this isn't too often. My all time best bowling score was 123, set in the summer of 1999. (how do I remember such a thing? I dunno.) Anyway, Drew and I have been bowling a few times lately, and I've been getting better. Today, I bowled a personal best of 143, and I got two strikes in a row. And I beat Drew by 4 pins. We bowl by the hour ($20 before 4:30 at Irvine Lanes), so we are able to bowl four games. He tends to get worse as the hour goes on, while I get better. As you might have guessed, this is the only reason that I was able to finally beat him.

christmas in virginia

I am back in California, and while I'm glad to be close to the beach again, I'm already missing the snow. When Drew and I arrived in Virginia, there was about 2 feet of snow on the ground. It was lovely. Temperatures were somewhere in the 30s, and the snow was slow to melt. Even so, there was snow on the ground during our entire trip.

Our trip was nice and relaxing, a mix of lazy days interspersed with days when we went into town to eat, shop, and meet friends. Drew's parents live in rural Virginia, so I'm not accustomed to living in the country. I can't fathom having to travel about 45 minutes to an hour just to buy groceries or go out to eat. Nevertheless, it was nice to be out in the middle of nowhere, in the peacefulness and silence of the country.

Drew's parents live way out in the country, with lots of trees and even a pond. Check out the view of the "backyard":

On one of the first days in Virginia, Drew, his brother Chris, and I went plodding through the snow, searching for a Christmas tree.

I HAD to make a snow angel!
After trudging around, we settled on this tree:
And I chopped it down! All by myself!
Check out those muscles!

Drew and I took a couple trips into Christiansburg and Blacksburg, two of the closest towns. We met some of Drew's friends, saw a movie, shopped, and ate at a few of Drew's favorite restaurants. Here we are in Blacksburg, home of Virginia Tech, Drew's alma mater. Virginia Tech's mascot is the hokie, which looks kind of like a turkey. There was this art project that created all these different hokie statues and placed them throughout Blacksburg. Here we are with one of the hokies:

No Christmas would be complete without homemade sugar cookies:

I love the smell of pine trees- the scent is simply heavenly. Here is the wonderful Christmas tree:

All in all, it was a good trip. I got to play in the snow, decorate a Christmas tree, meet Drew's friends, spend time with his family, and visit his old stomping grounds.