December 2010
25 posts
3 tags
Today I made ginger bread pudding with ginger creme anglaise, caramel sauce, and orange whipped cream, finished with crystallized ginger! It was absolutely delicious, and I feel very proud that it came out so well because the recipe is one I made up myself by looking at a few recipes and combining the parts I liked.  One guy ordered a plate of chocolate chip cookies, but due to a miscommunication...
Dec 31st
3 tags
Work today: 1) so much prep for New Year’s Eve! The menu includes such hits as lemongrass-infused crab cakes, caviar with tuna, steak au poivre (that’s a pepper sauce, but ours is kind of Korean-inspired), and coconut panna cotta. Mmmmmm. 2) Stressing out about making a new dessert. Pavlova? Ginger-apple bread pudding? Another tart? THE POSSIBILITIES ARE TERRIFYING. 3) My back hurts...
Dec 30th
Dec 27th
56 notes
One percent of all Americans are waiters. AWESOME. also I will be eating in sci-fi co-op for winter term! I am MOST EXCITED.
Dec 27th
I have had a lovely Christmas. I received many books and some CDs and a couple kitchen things, and practically no useless items that I will just have to pack, and all my gifts were very well received, so overall it has gone very well. Time to cook!
Dec 25th
Dec 25th
1 note
4 tags
At the restaurant, we use kosher salt almost exclusively. We dump it into little tubs that we scatter around the kitchen so no matter where we are, we can reach over and grab a pinch of salt if we need it. Yesterday was slow, so I was talking to Stacy, one of the servers, about salt, and I realized I know a lot about salt! Here goes: Salt reduces the presence of bitterness in food, or at least it...
Dec 25th
3 tags
The way time runs when you’re working in a kitchen is really odd. It somehow manages to be fast and slow at the same time. One second you’ll look at the clock and it’ll say 5:25  - crap! five minutes before service! dice those veggies, quick! - and the next second you’ll look over and it’ll be two hours later. At the same time, you’re aware of every single...
Dec 18th
Dec 17th
1,531 notes
I will be eating in Harkness next semester!!!!
Dec 17th
I can say “soap” in Spanish now! And also “bubbles,” which is the same as in Latin, essentially.
Dec 16th
Elephants are the only four-footed mammals who cannot jump! Apparently. Although I’ve never seen a cow jump, I guess they are capable of it.
Dec 15th
1 tag
How to seed a pomegranate without spraying juice everywhere: Step 1: Put pomegranate underwater Step 2: Seed pomegranate. Step 3: Observe lack of staining on clothes. Step 4: Rejoice!
Dec 12th
The spaghetti we have at the restaurant is longer than my arm!!!
Dec 12th
I’m really rather fond of rosé, even though my mom doesn’t like it. She’s been buying it for me if she runs across a good one.
Dec 10th
I got a new phone!! It’s the KIN Onem and I think it’s unbearably adorable! I can poke it with my fingers to make it do things. :)
Dec 9th
Rite Aid actually sells some really lovely and classy-looking wrapping paper. 
Dec 9th
You can tell if a CD has been burned or not by looking at the underside. CDs burn from the inside out, so if you see a ringlike transition in the texture or reflection on the underside, you know it’s been burned! You can also tell approximately how much information has been burned to it if you know how much the disc holds.
Dec 8th
If you boil purple kale it turns BRIGHT BLUE. Like something out of Avatar.
Dec 7th
Dec 7th
38,505 notes
2 tags
I can get credit for a Winter Term project I do the month before I return to Oberlin! Now what should I do for a project? Dumplings of the world? Structural snow sculpture? Learning crewel embroidery? Whittling? Actually, the embroidery one sounds really fun. In other news, I really have to start culling possessions and packing. Oh boy.
Dec 5th
WatchWatch
OH SHIT BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH IS A GINGER!!!
Dec 4th
1 tag
You can tell if a pear is ripe by twisting and tugging on the stem. If it bends or resists, it’s unripe. If it pulls out easily, it’s ripe. If it pulls out easily and takes a bit of pear with it, it’s PERFECT and you should eat it with gusto.
Dec 3rd
1 tag
I’ve finally figured out christmas presents for my whole family!
Dec 2nd
1 tag
I don’t have healthcare right now because my father is on active duty instead of reserve duty, and the Air Force healthcare people are incapable of switching our coverage (even though this happens all the time) without being babysat.  I spent 40 minutes on the phone this morning trying to figure this out. They couldn’t even tell me that my dad was active duty instead of reserve duty....
Dec 1st