P.P.S.

If you get time (which I know you will, the whole South is covered in ice), you should read Andy's really great piece on jay. I am very proud of him!

Day 2: Parmesan Cat Treats

I've baked dog treats before. And Charlotte, being the garbage can that she is(ironic because her worst fear is the dumspter truck), loved them. They're made with ingredients intended for human consumption, which I think my animals deserve, rather than chicken by-product(read: blood, beak, eyes, etc.). So I decided to make cat treats because I was running low on the store-bought kind. Also, since they only have four ingredients--cheese, flour, water, butter--they were super simple. I even used a little fish-shaped cookie cutter. I was so proud.
But as you can see, my fatties were not impressed. Betsy just glared at me for invading her personal space when I gave her one, and Johnny started throwing his around the room. It wound up under the fridge. I gave one to Charlotte, though, and she was definitely interested. So the cat treats became dog treats. (Or possibly human treats? Andy ate two. He said they tasted like a mild cheese cracker. And he calls CHARLOTTE a garbage can...)
P.S.- Yes, Betsy has two front legs. How that fatty is so flexible is beyond me.

365 Days of Food

In a fit of Julie and Julia-inspired food-blog frenzy (which I'm sure has happened to a lot of people), I decided that I am going to make something every day, for a year. Something edible will be created with my oven, stovetop, blender, and sheer force of will. This will produce an ungodly amount of dishes. Likely, I will not actually feel like cooking (or baking or whipping up) something everyday. But I love cooking and am fascinated by food, so why not? What else am I doing? (Looking for a job, yes, but unsuccessfully thus far).
Yesterday, January 27th, was my first day. I made almond biscotti (see above--the image below is a banana cake with chocolate icing that I made on Saturday...so rich I was actually compelled to EXERCISE the next morning. That hasn't happened since an ill-advised Cici's binge Christie and I had in late 2006). They are VERY crispy, but subtly sweet (from someone who adores subtle in everything but food). Don't know how I'm going to eat 16 of them, but it'll happen!

Yesterday we saw "A Single Man," which I loved. I felt so proud of Tom Ford for making such a beautiful movie, when I know so many people doubted him. It takes incredible balls (which he undeniably has) to completely switch careers like that. The movie was great, despite its criminally short Lee Pace cameo. However, my favorite part had to be the dance scene between Colin Firth and Julianne Moore to "Green Onions," which may well enter into my favorite dance scenes ever. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a clip of it, so I'll show you my two favorite film dance scenes, starring, respectively, two of the most attractive people to ever live, Anna Karina and Marcello Mastroianni. Coincidentally, Band of Outsiders and Le Notti Biache also happen to be two of my favorite movies. Enjoy!

Still definitely feeling the post-funeral blues yesterday, I decided to surround myself with two of my favorite things: pastry and Harry Potter. I made a caramel apple pie and rented Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Watching Alan Rickman bonk Harry and Ron's heads together whilst they were gossiping was very good, but the pie was better. Very gloopy and comforting.
According to the Midwest Living brochure where I got the recipe, this pie is a regional specialty of Nebraska. I have always discounted Nebraska as a state (except for the fact that it gave the world Brimstone Howl), but no more! Bless you, Omaha, for this delicious pie!
I'm considering getting a B12 shot tomorrow. Though voluntarily subjecting myself to a needle is verging on madness, it'd be worth it to have more energy. Do they work? I will see!

Respectfully....

Unfortunately, good Lost Sounds clips are virtually non-existent. So after some YouTube wanderin', I finally found a show I was at. This has been some very sad stuff.

It's getting colder here in the Deep South, but unfortunately I cannot hibernate, though I am giving it my best shot (sleeping til 1 today with the animals squishing me into a warm furry sandwich). But work awaits. I just finished writing a very real grant proposal for not-quite-real P.A.W. for my nonprofit class. It is long and confusing and would surely not get my organization $25,000. But I AM DONE WITH IT. and that is what really matters here.
let's see...friday night i made an encore of the fudge pie i made two weeks ago. my dad ate it all yesterday, which makes me feel good. i enjoy watching other people enjoy what i've cooked. some really profound thoughts going on here, clearly. i am so unbelieveably read to be finished with school. the idea of grad school and doing this whole thing over again, academics-wise (the non-academics have been pretty varied and fun), makes me want to run my head through a Rothko. (just kidding, i would never destroy a rothko...perhaps a paul mccarthy.) but it does seem a little foolish to say, "no thanks professional career...i'd like to stay home and bake and rescue animals instead." i don't know. QUARTER-LIFE CRISIS (actually, every time i see a roach in my apartment it takes a few years off my life, so if i continue living in midtown 22 is probably half of my life, not a quarter).
fingers crossed for a camera this christmas! but for now, i leave you with this bundle of holiday joy: