Life.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Poundcake

2010-08-26T18:32:00.002-05:00

So, it's been a while, but I felt as though this recipe needed to be apart of the blog. Ever since our friend's mom introduced us to this cake, it has been made at least once a month. It's fast, easy, moist, and delicious. What more could you want from a cake? That's right. Nothing. So here is the recipe:

-Butter Yellow Cake Mix
-1 3.9 oz chocolate pudding mix
-4 eggs
-1 cup oil
-1/4 cup water
-8 oz. sour cream
-6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix first six ingredients until softened. Use mixer for two minutes until smooth. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour mixture into greased bundt pan. Bake for 55 minutes to an hour. Let cool 10 minutes, then remove from pan. Enjoy!

Life Lessons.

2009-11-05T22:15:00.002-06:00

In lieu of recent events, namely almost burning my hand off with boiling water, I have decided to compile a list of life lessons based on...well, my life events so far. I think most can be summed up in: Don't be stupid, but I press on.

1. Do not under any circumstances try to jump over a hurdle from the backside...it will only end in a tennis ball size bruise on your ankle.

2. When attempting to warm a pre-baked Grandmas cookie, do not stick it on a kleenex and put it in the microwave for 3 minutes...fire is no good for the cookie, or the microwave.

3. When driving through an ATM at the bank, recognize that the yellow poles on either side of you are not padded and will dent and scratch your car should you happen to get too close.

4. Never assume that the bus route in China goes in a complete circle, it will only take you to a rice field in the middle of nowhere.

5. Graduating and getting married on the same day may seem like a good idea, but it isn't. Also, never sing "Climb Every Mountain."

6. If you are needing to dye your hair and pick up a box at the supermarket that says "Hair Painting", put it down immediately.

7. When you run out of gas in an intersection, do not roll your car into the nearest Church's Chicken and tip their wall over..all they do is laugh at you.

8. Whenever you are in Indonesia, or anywhere near the equator, no matter how cloudy it is...wear sunscreen.

9. And Finally, when making a pot of tea, be sure to pour the boiling water into the mug and not on your hand...a red and bubbly hand will ensue.

This list is by no means complete, this could be an additive post. I'm quite certain that I have many more life lessons yet to come. Be excited.

Fashionista

2009-09-13T12:32:00.003-05:00

In order to clock in for work at Old Navy you must walk through the entire store to the very back where there is a room that can only be unlocked through a top-secret, employee-only code. As I walked in to the store to start my shift, a certain item of clothing caught my eye. Now, let me say first that I am no fashionista, I do my best to not look homely and I would consider myself a fashion conscious person, but by no means a trendsetter of any kind. So, to those of you out there who know that this item of clothing is back in style and choose to wear it, awesome. For those of us born in the 80s and have no wish to return to those scrunchie wearing, big hair, big T-shirt days, this post is for you. The item I am of course referring to is....stirrup pants.
I am pretty sure when I was younger I had several pairs of stirrup pants in magenta, purple, and then of course classic black. They went with everything...dog sweaters, Mickey and Minnie tie dye shirts, and my striped turtlenecks. Never did I think I would see the day when these would return. But they have, and the poor teenagers of this generation must suffer what I did as a young child...the fate of looking back at stirrup pants pictures. I mourn for them, as I did for myself.

Vivian the Starbucks girl.

2009-08-28T16:11:00.002-05:00

I saw this today on Ellen and it made me laugh...alot.

http://ellen.warnerbros.com/videos/?mediaKey=8a76b6a3-47c5-4820-a634-4ac2a01e8f79&isShareURL=true

Strawberry rhubarb pie

2009-08-27T13:02:00.002-05:00

So, this will be my first recipe entry. I have tried making several strawberry rhubarb pies, but none seemed to be all that great until this....my dad said it was the best pie he had ever eaten. Granted, he is a tad biased, but on the other hand, he has eaten alot of pie in his lifetime...

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Filling:
2 1/2 cups chopped red rhubarb, (the original recipe calls for fresh, but I used frozen)
2 1/2 cups de-stemmed, washed and cut strawberries (in larger pieces)
1 1/2 cups sugar (1 1/4 for high altitudes)
2 TBL minute tapioca
1 TBL all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp canilla extract
3 TBL butter, cubed small

Crust: (I use my mom's recipe, this is for a single crust pie, but I usually double it)
1 cup flour
1/3 cup oil
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3 TBL water

Directions:
Crust preparation: Mix flour, sugar and salt together. Make a well with flour mixture and then pour oil and water in the middle. Mix the oil and water. Slowly blend in the flour mixture. This crust can be either mixed in the pie pan and then patted to fit or it can be mixed in a bowl and rolled out. Hint: If you roll this crust out, put down a piece of wax paper underneath and on top of the dough, then roll out. I put the crust in the oven to bake for a couple of minutes before I put the filling in just to make sure that it gets done.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Filling preparation: Mix the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, tapioca, flour, lemon juice, dash of cinnamon, and vanilla. Mix well in a large bowl and pour out into chilled crust. Dot the top of the filling with the butter. Roll out a second crust dough and place over filling. Collar with foil and bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes. Decrease tempearture to 375 degrees F and bake for an additional 45-50 minutes, or until the filling starts bubbling. Higher altitude wil take 450 degrees F and 400 degrees F respectively. Let cool before serving.

It's seriously good. I found the recipe for the filling on the Food network. Bon Appetit!

Back to school.

2009-08-24T17:28:00.004-05:00

Recently I decided it would be a good idea to go back to school. I decided to further my education in the wonderful and complex world of music. Despite my two year education furlough, I was excited to start my graduate studies. And so, filled with excitement I dashed off to my 9 am class with "plenty of time" to get there.
Apparently, at large universities, there is this thing called traffic. Interesting. I pulled onto campus at 8:50 and somehow didn't make it to my building until 9:03. Also, the parking lot is metered and a line about a hundred feet long has formed to pay...the crowd and I are then forced to watch and wait as the poor girl at the front of the line rummages in her large purse for any nickel she can find. Great. But this wasn't going to get me down, I was going back to school! I was going to make a name for myself! I was going to challenge myself! I...broke my flip flop running to make it to that 9 am class.
At 9:05, I arrived at my 3rd floor Early Music History class sweating, breathing hard, and with only one shoe. And so starts my graduate career...

Bon Appetit!

2009-08-17T22:26:00.005-05:00

I recently saw the movie Julie and Julia. I think Julia Child and I have things in common. Oh no, I am not an amazing French chef, I have never deboned a duck, and I have never sent out antique portrait Valentines to all my friends (because why celebrate v-day when it's Arizona's b-day). However, I do believe that we share a bond.

First and foremost, I am currently in the process of mastering Julia Child's voice...it is key to becoming a great chef, or baker.

Also, Julia started cooking to pass the time, she was looking for something to do. I, during a brief time of unemployment, also turned to baking to pass the time (my husband came home one day to find a mound of 5 dozen bran muffins waiting for him). But the baking soon became not a time waster, but instead, a passion, a creative outlet, if you will. Cakes, cookies, brownies, pies...I coninue to explore the wonderland of baked goods, just as Julia did with French food.

I also related to Julie (the contemporary blogger of the movie). It is mostly a strict she has a blog and so do I level. However, Julie has inspired me to continue this blog. Perhaps to have some purpose, other than stories that I find interesting or amusing. I have decided to seek out Julia Child worthy recipes that I have tested and tasted, and to post them here on my blog. Yes, it will be my own project...the Lindsay/Julie project. Maybe someday it will lead to my own baking show...The James of Cakes...

Bon Appetit!

2008-11-01T23:00:00.002-05:00

Today a older gentleman said I looked like Sarah Palin. Then proceeded to tell me what a fine and attractive woman she was. Maybe I should go back to blonde.

De pants.

2008-07-07T22:32:00.002-05:00

As an esteemed employee of the Macaroni Grill, I have a daily routine that is supremely uneventful. Welcome the guests, seat the guests, sing an occasional Italian aria...the usual. Oh yes I do have the occasional birthday guest that asks me to sit on his lap as I sing "Tanti Aguri a Te" or others that decide to dance with me to the delightful Italian/elevator music that plays in the entrance. But normally the day is filled with plain old Italian monotony. Until this day...

This day I was going above and beyond the call of a Italian singer/hostess...I was the door opener. As I said farewell to a group of people one middle-aged, very normal looking woman came face to face with me as I held the door. And just as I was saying "Goodbye, thanks for coming in..." her pants fell down. Not just a little below her waist, no all the way to the floor. What?! Does this happen in real life?! She was wearing Khaki pants! Smile awkwardly..mumble something..um..First instinct...hearty laughter. Second instinct...pity. Third instinct..."Have a nice day". After several painstaking seconds...I flew past first and second and went straight for my third instinct. The pants came back up in a flash, and the woman, as jolly as ever, strolled out the restaurant laughing and clinging tightly to her khakis. And then...I laughed.

Sometimes it's the little things that get you through the day, or in this case...the awkward, embarassing, hilarious things. That day I strolled out the restaurant as jolly as ever, clinging tightly to that thought.

Gunna Take Pollution Down to Zero

2008-03-08T17:48:00.003-06:00

I don't know if anybody watched the cartoon Captain Planet when they were I child, but I certainly did. I was intrigued mostly with the melting pot of friends that had Environmental super powered rings. The best part then of course was when the rings combined they created a nature superhero with green hair and a blue body. With scary villians, such as Looten Plunder, and a catchy theme song this cartoon was an instant classic.

However, it is not until recently that I have felt the effects of the show. I have always been taught not to litter, I believe the word litter bug may have been used, even so I was told to keep our earth clean. But now, not only do I abstain from littering, but any trash that I see on the ground must be picked up, at any cost. The other day I was running late, saw the trash probably oozing with bacteria, then tried to walk away...but I couldn't. I couldn't stand the voices...Earth, Wind, Fire, Water, Heart...I had to go back. I had to save mother earth. I had to be captain planet. So I did. I was a hero. Who knew a crazy cartoon could influence my life 15 years later.

I want my ring now.

Darling.

2008-02-15T20:02:00.002-06:00

I do not have many pet peeves. I am a generally non-irratated person. Of course there are some exceptions, such as large speed bumps, back seat drivers, and the noise that the air conditioning makes when it is on high (it's like an extended whisper without saying anything). However, today I discovered a new one. Today a girl at least 4 years younger than me started off a condesceding sentence with "Darling". I believe the sentence was "Darling, you will see the name of the server on the receit".

I've always thought of the word "Darling" as an endearing precious term that only lovers or cute old couples used to talk to anyone and everyone because they had the right too. This recent high school graduate used the word as false sweetness. Which then turned the otherwise helpful comment into a degrading reprimand.

I should've said "Thank you, sweetheart" and been done with the whole thing. However, it is not in my nature to be equally annoying. Lucky for her.

So it happened.

2008-02-10T15:58:00.000-06:00

After the world of xanga came to an end, I told myself that I wouldn't get a blog. After all, I have facebook, I can still keep in touch with people...were the words fresh on my brain. But recently I have wanted more, I don't want to know only a person's status... (Lindsay is happy)...I want to know stories. I want to know thoughts. I want to know if anyone else is still just a bit freaked out not to be in college anymore, and instead be in the real world where their major doesn't really matter all that much.

Or maybe I'm just a follower and saw that some friends had one, and so I should probably get one too. It doesn't matter. Lindsay is..happy to be here.