Month: March 2012

Justice will be served (tea)

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In honor of all the healthcare hullabaloo happening down in Washington this week over the legality of healthcare reform, I bring you this gem straight from Sesame Street.

May justice prevail in this case too, and may we inch closer to a system where people are no longer denied necessary medical care just because they happen to have a uterus.

Kitchen Adventures: Lemon Blueberry Cobbler

/ SallyJBrz / 3 Comments

Not only was it Pi Day this week (or “pee” day, as my European friends say it), it was my turn to make something tasty for Pie Day Friday at work.  Since we decided that “round things” qualified as pies whether or not they had a bottom crust, I tested this new recipe out on my colleagues.  Let’s just say we ate it all in one sitting and the inside of my lips are still blue.

This would be delicious with tea and homemade whipped cream – it’s sweet, but not cloyingly so, and just tastes really fresh, hot or cold.  I based my recipe off of this one, with a bunch of changes (especially in the spices, where they asked for cardamon which costs $18 at the store!!  I went for everyday spices instead, and never looked back).

Lemon Blueberry Cobbler

  • 2 cups fresh of frozen blueberries (one small bag of frozen did it for me)
  • zest from 1 medium lemon
  • juice from 1 medium lemon
  • 1/3 cup sugar (more, if you want!)
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch (double if you’re using frozen blueberries, they tend to give off a lot more liquid)
  • 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees (F).
  2. Mix together blueberries, lemon zest and juice, sugar, and cornstarch with a spoon until well mixed.  Transfer to a round pie plate or baking dish.
  3. Sift together (or mix lightly) the dry ingredients, then add cream and mix until a dough starts to form.  The original recipe says to make this into five discrete dumplings, but I spread mine around like one big crust (less fighting!) and it worked really well.
  4. Bake at 400 for about 30-35 minutes, until the cobbler topping is cooked through and slightly brown.  (Mine took 45 minutes because my oven hates me.)

 

By the time it had cooled overnight, all the liquid was absorbed and it was really easy to transfer (and delicious when we ate it hours later!)  Eat and enjoy!

How did you celebrate Pi Day?  What’s your favorite kind of pie or cobbler?

Anything but Misérable

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Les Mis - our high school edition

Last night, Katie and I painted the town red – and black (the dark of ages past) – when we took in opening night of Les Misérables at the Boston Opera House.

For me, this was more than just a night at the theater.  It was a symbol of our friendship.  It was a reminder of that time 9 years ago (yes, I feel old when I say that) when we first saw Les Mis on stage (also through Broadway in Boston) with the music department of our high school.  The way we felt when the barricade folded and the stage started spinning.  The shock and awe of watching a musical – and this musical especially – reveal the fate of each character and rip your heart away in the process.

Then, the production we did our senior year of high school, where we built the barricade by hand, stayed up late sewing tri-color scarves, and scoured HomeGoods for the best silver candlesticks $30 could buy.

And then, a reminder of London, of the six months we spent there together, eating waffles in Hyde Park, shopping on Portobello Road, and deciding on a whim to go see the stage production there, buying tickets after class and eating ice cream in the balcony during intermission.

All that brought us here, to our sweet little Boston apartment with photos of our lives on the walls, a Big Ben shower curtain, and a roommate who knows how to finish whatever musical tune you start.

Now, ON WITH THE SHOW!  Spoilers ahead!

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Change one thing

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This weekend at the New Leaders Council Institute, I was charged with giving a moving two minute speech on the topic of “change one thing.”  It made me think not only of the big picture things I want to change in the world (inequality, racism, hate, etc.) but also about all the little things I would do differently if I was in charge of the world. Here’s my top eight* list for today – what would be on yours?

  1. Lego Friends – This is what I actually said in our class this weekend.  I believe that Lego Friends embodies pretty much everything that is wrong with our country in terms of sexism.  Girls were playing with Legos before, and they’ll keep playing with them now – by creating a separate product of building blocks that are pinks and pastels, we’re drawing a line and establishing boy toys and girl toys in one of the VERY few areas where this wasn’t already black and white.  Please, for the love of all that is gender  neutral, listen to the little girls and boys who are writing to you and go back to the drawing board on this one.
  2. Its – Look, I get what we’re trying to do here, differentiating between the contraction it is and that which belongs to it, but I’m tired of these shenanigans.  Give the damn second meaning an apostrophe already so it can match basically every other possessive version of anything.
  3. The hours of the T – Attention city planners: we didn’t move to Boston because we wanted to end our nights out in time to catch the last train at 12:30.  We came here because we wanted to be young and enjoy the good life, but you’re cutting our fun short with these ridiculous timetables and silly roads that make a 5-mile cab ride cost $35.  Since I doubt we’re going to build more efficient roads, can we please get some leniency with the weekend hours on the T?  Even just by an hour or two?
  4. Cover charges – Please go away.  That is all.
  5. The prevalence of pomegranate – This is being phased out, thank goodness, but the sooner the better!  I’m allergic and I’m sick of having to stay away from shampoos, dressings, and delicious looking drinks.  I’m ready for the next big thing, and hopefully this one won’t make me break out in hives.
  6. eBooks – It has finally happened that someone offered to lend me a book… on my non-existent Kindle.  I think that the more reading, the better in general, but the hard truth is that unless the other person has the same technology, you can’t share books this way, and that breaks my little bibliophile heart right in half.  Paper, please?
  7. The return of common decency – I want to see this happen, STAT.  It shouldn’t be ok to call a woman a “slut” or “prostitute” – whether she’s a waitress who pisses you off OR a 3L at Georgetown law who wanted to talk about the need for contraception coverage in the health care amendments.  We need to all come together and remind people – and ourselves – that this is inappropriate and we can be better than that.  Also, stand up for old people on the T and cover your mouth when you sneeze, please!
  8. The lack of Food network at BSC – It’s minor, but the only regret I had in finally leaving Planet Fitness for Boston Sports Club (in all their pool-and-spinning-class glory) was that PF got the Food Network and BSC does not, which means the end to my dinner adventure inspiration.  Instead, I’m always going to want a beer at MacLarens like in How I Met Your Mother.
This list is far from complete (see below) but it’s still nice to get these little wishes off my chest in case I meet a mini-genie one day.  Never say never!  And Lego – you can expect to hear from me soon.

*Hate imperfectly numbered lists?  Send me your top ideas and maybe I’ll adopt two more!

Music Monday: One day more

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… until Katie and I go see Les Mis!

This will be our third time seeing the show together, not counting the O2 televised version and the 4 shows we put on in high school, and I get more excited each time.  I’m a bit nervous because I hear that when it was restaged, they took away the turntable component (gaspshockawe) but I’m sure it will still be a fabulous show.  I’ll give you my review later this week!

What I’m reading

/ SallyJBrz / 2 Comments

I don’t really have words for the insanity for the last month, so let’s pretend that we already discussed it and are now ready to dive into March, however untrue that may be.

Thanks to a jam-packed bookstore in DC, I’ve had a few good books to read in the last week, but now I’m craving more.  Here’s what’s on my shelf (and my Google reader) right now – what about yours?

  • Jurassic Park – After reading this, I am NEVER going to watch the movie.  I’ll stick with the MAD magazine parody instead.
  • Get Real – I love me some Donald Westlake, and combining his mysteries with reality shows is a slam dunk.
  • Dreams of My Father – Since I actually finished the first two already, this is what’s currently in my purse.  That Obama dude – he sure knows how to write.  I wonder if he’ll go anywhere… (and honestly, given how raw he is about some things in this book, I am a little shocked that he has!)
  • Double Decker Days – This gal in Australia is renovating an old double-decker bus to LIVE in.  I’ve been following her forever, but the work is almost done now, so check it out asap!
  • Pigtail Pals – If you’ve heard me rant about pink legos or be upset about people thinking my cousin’s baby was a boy because we bought her a fish themed beach ball, this is the source of my anger.  Feel free to join in the outrage against sexism, as perfectly described by the gang at Pigtail Pals.
  • Fooducate – For all the things you never knew you needed to know about your food and the food industry.  This blog is fascinating and just reading it (while I eat Girl Scout cookies) makes me feel healthier.

Et tu?