on turning 30

Lately, I've been thinking about turning 30. It's going to happen in a little over 4 months, whether I'm ready or not. And I don't feel ready to be 30. You see, I don't feel responsible or mature enough to be 30. Now, I know what you're thinking. You're going to tell me that you know plenty of irresponsible people who are over 30, or that you know plenty of responsible people in their 20s. You're probably going to remind me that age is just a number. I know all of this, really, I get it but I still don't think I'm ready to be 30.

People who are over 30 know stuff like when to get their oil changed, or what tax form to use, or the meaning of a deductible. I know none of these things. People who are over 30 are responsible and pay their bills on time and don't wait until the last minute to file their taxes. Me? I once forgot to pay my rent and I have automatic bill pay so I don't lose my phone service.

Sometimes, Drew likes to give me a hard time about turning 30 (he is a couple years younger than me). Just the other day, we were at Barnes and Noble, and he found this board game that had a minimum age- 30. It's this game testing your memory of events that occurred at least 3 decades ago or so. However, given the description on the box- it talked about poodle skirts, Elvis, and jukeboxes- I think you need to be much older than 30 to actually have a shot at winning.

I don't mean to make myself sound like a completely immature and irresponsible person. When I get paid on the first of the month, I sit down and pay my bills online (except my phone bill). I plan out my meals each week and make a pretty meticulous grocery list, checking each item off as I walk through the store. Today, I filed my taxes and filled out my FAFSA. The other day, I bought a fire and waterproof safe. There are no prerequisites for turning 30, but maybe I'm ready after all.

dark chocolate chevre brownies

So here's the story: Yesterday, I was studying at Drew's and the Food Network was on in the background. Specifically, Throwdown with Bobby Flay was on in the background. Throwdown is a show in which Flay finds "the best of the best" and then challenges them to a throwdown. It sounds corny, but it's a fun show. He finds people who specialize in some food- pizza, sloppy joes, German chocolate cake, chicken wings, etc. Then he goes to work to perfect his version, shows up at their restaurant or bakery, surprises them, and challenges them to a cook off. Or bake off. It's fun, everyone samples the food, and then judges declare a winner.

On yesterday's episode, Flay was challenging the Vermont Brownie Company to a brownie throwdown. His peanut butter caramel brownies lost to their dark chocolate chevre brownies. Suddenly inspired, I decided right then and there that I HAD to make the chevre brownies. I couldn't find a recipe on the Food Network's website, but I did find one on a blog so I gave that a whirl.

I know what you're thinking. You know that chevre is goat cheese. And you're thinking, seriously? Goat cheese? Goat cheese in a brownie? Yes. Goat cheese and chocolate. It's magnificent. (I suspect that any moment, you are going to knock on my door, begging for a taste)
The brownies are fat and moist, thick and fudgy, just the way I like them. When you take a bite, you get a rich chocolately flavor and you savor the chocolate chunks. And then BAM! Goat cheese! It seemingly hits you out of nowhere, Emeril style. I'm kidding just a little bit; it's not that dramatic, but the goat cheese does wake you up on the aftertaste. It's a pleasant surprise and sure spices up the brownie.

If you've been following along on this blog for a while, you know that sometimes I decide to shake things up a bit and bake up something new and interesting. I went through the chocolate chip cookie phase and baked up about 20 varieties. Then last fall, I went through a pie phase and baked at least a dozen kinds of pie. So, I've been thinking that it might be time for a new project. Brownies. I've been thinking about it for a while, and I think it might be time. I love brownies, but I'm rarely satisfied with the ones I eat. And sometimes I'm satisfied with the ones that I bake, but not always.

Here's my mission: I want to bake good, great, excellent brownies, but they can't be plain and boring. I'm going to bake up some creative and interesting brownies, ones that you won't find at most places. Ones that make you scratch your head in bewilderment, and say, really? You combined (fill in the blank) with (fill in the blank)? And after honing my baking skills and following other people's recipes, I'm going to strike out on my own, play around and bake up the best brownie. Stay tuned. You won't want to miss this.

P.S.: There has been a lot of interest in these brownies, and a few recipe requests. I actually got the recipe from another blog, the Pink Apron. I must give credit where credit is due! Here's the only change I made: I used 5 ounces of chevre instead of the prescribed 4. Happy baking!

viva las vegas

Last weekend, Drew and I braved the traffic and headed to Las Vegas. It was a nice and relaxing weekend, and we walked around, soaked up the sights, and ate yummy food. It was the Chinese New Year, so many of the hotels were decorated for the event.

On the first night, we ate at Taqueria Canonita, a restaurant that serves creative and interesting interpretations of Mexican food. We ate a child relleno, which was stuffed with dried fruits, almonds, and cheese. The contrast between the sweet and savory was wonderful. We also ate the wild mushroom enchiladas, which were smothered in a poblano cream sauce. The sauce was velvety and combined with the tender mushrooms, the enchiladas slid right down my throat. Usually, vegetarian food at Mexican restaurants is pretty run of the mill, but not here.

The next day, we went to Hash House a Go Go, a restaurant that originated in San Diego. It is a funky restaurant that prides itself on serving fresh farm food with a twist. To say that the servings are massive is an understatement. We ate the quesadilla, which is stuffed with potatoes, eggs, tomatoes, and jalapenos, and drenched in a chili cream sauce. It was like comfort food the size of a platter. This was really, really good, and I'm so glad Hash House a Go Go is so close to home.

We also ordered the snickers pancake, which is more like a dessert. It was fluffy and wonderfully rich and chocolate-y. The portion sizes are definitely excessive, but the upside is that we had plenty of leftovers.

Of course we could not miss out on the fountains at the Bellagio.

We checked out this art gallery filled with pieces by Dale Chiluly, an artist who works with glass. It was beautiful and extremely impressive.

We enjoyed truffles and gelato at the Jean Philippe Patisserie, a cute and whimsical place that is a great place to take a break for coffee and sweet treats.

The mini wedding cakes on display are pretty cool.

shin or the skin?

As you may recall, I love the Olympics. Someday, I want to go to the Olympics, both the summer and winter games. (as a spectator, of course) The LA Times has been covering some of the Olympic athletes and sports in the sports section, which is the only reason I haven't been tossing that section aside, which is my usual routine.

Anyway, today I read this awesome feminist-y piece on women athletes. The article's focus, written by Bill Plaschke, is on US skier Lindsey Vonn, but the author's broader purpose is to comment on women athletes as a whole. Vonn has suffered a shin injury that may cost her an Olympic berth, yet all we care about is how she recently posed in Sports Illustrated.

I have commented on the media coverage of female athletes during the Summer Olympics. In that post, I talked about how even though women are strong and hard working athletes, the focus is on how they manage to juggle training and motherhood. Women, by virtue of being athletes, are acting "unfeminine" and beyond their prescribed gender roles. Despite their accomplishments, they are still expected to exhibit stereotypical female characteristics. For example, after Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh won their second Olympic beach volleyball medal, the media focus shifted to how they were recently married and wanted to start a family. Can you imagine anyone discussing marriage and parenthood with Michael Phelps?

So today's article talked about how even though Lindsey Vonn is an accomplished skier who is a medal favorite, nobody wants to talk about her shin injury and instead the focus is on the sexually objectifying photos in Sports Illustrated. Plaschke says that "The most famous female athletes are the prettiest female athletes, period." None of this is new news. Olympic swimmer Amanda Beard bared her skin in Playboy (if I remember right, sorry, I don't "read" that magazine), everyone knows of Anna Kournikova, and as Plaschke says, nobody gave a shit about when the US women's soccer team won the World Cup until after Brandi Chastain ripped off her shirt. Female empowerment or female objectification?

Plaschke's final quote pretty much sums up society's attitude towards women athletes: "A woman who could potentially be the Winter Olympics' most decorated athlete will also be its most Googled, by folks who care nothing about her athleticism and everything about her breasts." It is really unfortunate that accomplished athletes who happen to be women only gain notoriety and respect when they show some skin and become sexually objectified.

anti v-day

I am supposed to be writing now, not blogging. I guess that this can be my warm up. I have a distaste and aversion to Valentine's Day, and this dislike has not subsided even though I am in a relationship. My distaste is twofold. First, I don't like 'days.' You know, mother's day, father's day, grandparent's day, secretary's day, dog walker's day, etc. It's strange. It's like, hey today is Valentine's Day, be nice to your significant other. You can be an asshole the other 364 days of the year, but on this one day, you'd better send flowers and chocolates and profess your undying love and appreciation. There is just too much emphasis on these 'days' and I think it allows us to slack off the rest of the year.

(by the way, I don't mind holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries. Birthdays and anniversaries are milestones, so they don't annoy me so much. As for holidays, I can be convinced to celebrate them if there is good food.)

Second, Valentine's Day reinforces the notion that the most important relationship you will ever have, and the most important one worth honoring is an intimate, romantic relationship. And this bothers me, because we can have many different meaningful relationships in our lives, and they are not necessarily with a significant other. We have no designated day to honor our friends, for example. Maybe this isn't so bad, and maybe it's not giving our friends short shrift. I mean, since there is no friendship day, it frees us up to be nice to our friends whenever we want, even every day. Except, I guess, for a few select other days when we have to be nice to our significant others, mothers, fathers, etc.

hiking

I don't think it's a secret that I don't particular care for Southern California. I miss seasons, leaves that change color, and snow. I loathe that California natives- who have never lived in another state mind you- think that theirs is better than all the rest. (Of course, they're not the only ones to glorify California; the remaining 49 states help put it on a pedestal.) I think that a recent lawsuit between the University of Southern California (USC) and the University of South Carolina (USC) pretty much sums up why I dislike California. The Univ of Southern California recently won the rights to 'USC.' So now, the Univ of South Carolina can't use the acronym. Apparently, there was a lot of confusion over who is really USC. That's right, the UCs and Cal States are all struggling, the economy is in the shithole, and the private Univ of Southern California wages a lawsuit for exclusive rights to be USC. The thing is, I realize that the Univ of Southern California is a private school and is not representative of other schools in CA, but I just can't imagine a school in any other state besides California who would sue for the right to monopolize an acronym. Seriously, what's next? All the major universities in states that begin with an M vying for the right to be THE U of M?

But I digress, because this isn't supposed to be a negative post. You see, I have these rare moments in which I have an appreciation for California and I must share them with you. And for the record, I'm not always complaining. I like being sandwiched between two major cities, so there is always something fun to do, something interesting to see, and something yummy to eat. I love being so close to the beach that I can go there for the day or for an hour. I like sinking my toes in the sand, lounging on the beach with a good book, and picnicking on the beach.

And sometimes, I confess, that the weather here isn't entirely awful. Yes, I miss snow and winter, but there are times when it's nice to have perpetually sunny and 70 degree days. It is nice that we can be outside every day of the year. Last weekend, Drew and I finally took advantage of all the hiking opportunities in SoCal. We are surrounded by mountains, state parks, and lots of hiking trails, but I had been hiking only once. In an effort to remedy this, I picked up a little book of the Best Easy Day Hikes in Orange County. Drew and I headed over to Laguna Beach, and in mere minutes, we were outside enjoying the fresh air. It was absolutely lovely.

Drew and I are planning to go hiking more often, mainly because it's fun and feels good to be outside, but also because I'm looking for fun ways to get exercise. I guess it's not so bad in SoCal after all.