my near death experience

so it has taken about a week to recover and get to the point where I can recount this story to you. It was all very sudden and... (who am I kidding, the only reason that I am writing this now, if ever is that it's finals week and there is no better time to procrastinate). Now back to my story.
I was making dinner for myself last Sunday. Veggie tacos in case you are curious (kale and beet greens to be exact, it was yummy but I will spare you the recipe as I probably just grossed a few people out). The veggies were all set to go as a filling to my tacos, all that was left was to heat up some corn tortillas. I don't know about you, but I really like to heat up tortillas over the stove's flame (that is why a gas stove will always be superior to an electric). So I turned on the neighboring burner, but a pot lid was kind of close to it (I have a bad habit of leaving pot lids on the stove because I don't see them as dirty enough to warrant washing, but not quite clean enough to put away, man the digressions are getting out of control). I decided to move the lid after the fact, and I am sure you may be able to guess what happened next. The entire sleeve of my brown cable knit sweater caught on fire! Now this is where it gets a bit troubling. What did I do, you may ask? Stop, drop, and roll? No. Run over to the sink to douse myself in water? No. Before I go on, I must preface this with a disclaimer of sorts.
You see, my limited exposure to fire is: 1. candles 2. birthday candles 3. the fireplace 4. bonfires at the beach
How do I normally put out these said fires? 1. blow it out 2. blow it out 3. let it smolder out 4. let it smolder out
So you can safely assume that I wouldn't let myself smolder out. So instead, you guessed it-- I started blowing on my arm to put the fire out.
When that (obviously) didn't work, I hit myself with the tortillas I was still holding in the other hand. That also didn't work. Finally, my roomie who was just a few feet away saw the flames travelling down my back and came to my rescue. She hit me until the flames went out :)
Oddly enough, when everything was over my sweater was still intact, and the fire had travelled the entire sleeve and back of my sweater in 10 seconds. Our theory is that there was a hair hanging down from the sleeve that caught on fire as I reached over the flame and it burnt up other loose hairs and general fuzz on the sweater. So those of you girls who "shed" alot, let this be a lesson learned.
We ended the night with some much needed drinks at a wine bar for my birthday. I still do owe the roomie a drink for saving my life....

stuffed but still healthy

The bell peppers at Henrys are always super cheap so I have a feeling I am going to be making this recipe often. And really, you can just throw whatever you have in the fridge into a pepper and bake it-- this recipe definately lends itself to some flexibility. It is also a healthy alternative to the normal stuffed pepper that is full of ground beef. And for my vegan friends, it can certainly be made vegan friendly! One suggestion though, rather than cut the tops off the peppers, I think it is best to cut them in half. More crispy goodness to enjoy. We stumbled upon this suggestion because I generally don't use all the produce I buy in an efficient manner and there was a bad spot on one of the peppers. Thank God for old food in the fridge!

Couscous Stuffed Peppers

adapted from Smitten Kitchen

servings: 4-5

time: 30-40 minutes

• bell peppers of any color (depending on size 3-4)
• 2/3 cup couscous
• 1 1/4 cup vegetable broth
• 2-3 zucchinis, quartered and thinly sliced
• 1-2 tomatoes
• half a can of chickpeas
• half of an onion, chopped
• 1-2 precooked chicken or turkey fancy sausage, quartered and thinly sliced (I used Trader Joes chicken pesto sausage)
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper

Half the bell peppers and clean them out. Spray a baking sheet with Pam, and cook bell peppers in 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, prep the veggies and cook the couscous (bring broth to a boil and add couscous, let it sit for 5 minutes then fluff). Saute onions and sausage, then zucchini with herbs, salt and pepper. Add couscous some parmesan cheese to taste. Stuff it all into the bell peppers. Add some more parmesan on top. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes.

Jess: "The stuffed peppers were really good...next time cut them in half to get more crunchy topping. Also, I'm glad we used parmesan instead of feta, no fennel and no tomato paste (see the original recipe). Nicole should cook dinner for me every night!"

David: "The couscous added a nice light texture to the stuffed peppers. The only thing I would have added is a bit of tomato paste. Oh yeah, and fennel!"

Antony: "The peppers were great. I liked it cut lengthwise- more crunchiness! The couscous without the tomato paste made it light. A little more sausage wouldn't hurt. Thanks for cooking."

In a haze

If you haven't heard yet, it seems that all parts of southern California are on fire. San Diego is currently battling six fires. Between the two largest fires, The Harris fire and Witchcreek fire, 700 homes have been destroyed and 100 commercial properties.

This is a picture of what I saw yesterday out of my bedroom window. The smoke would be from the Harris fire which is southeast of us.

And this is a map of the Harris fire. The little yellow dot is where I live, so as you can see still quite a bit away.

My allergies and asthma have calmed down a bit through the night (yesterday they were really bad), but are getting worse again this morning. Lots of sneezing and what feels like a restricted throat. And the smoke outside my window has now dissipated into a haze.

On a happier note-- school is still closed today! So it gives me a chance to be productive and get a paper written that is supposed to be due tomorrow. I am looking forward to going to a coffee shop to work in a bit: I have yet to leave the house in the past 24 hours so it will be nice to get out!

playing catch up

I've got way too many school related things to do this week (and tonight for that matter), so what does that mean? a blog post of course. One would expect no less, since this blog was birthed out of a moment of procrastination-- that it would be in fact the entire life of said blog relies on such procrastination.
So I think my last post consisted of my wondering of my clinic assignments and eager anticipation of what lied ahead. Unfortunately I cant get into much detail, for confidentiality and HIPPA's sake. What I can say is that I got 2 cute 'clients' this semester that I am working with. That means I will have adults next semester (or so the rumor goes). It has really been such a blessing quite honestly. There was a difficult week in the beginning where I was dealing with two cancelations and having to scratch the plan and start over three times. But one client finally stuck and it has really been a great experience. I am actually looking forward to working with adults next semester though. I was really apprehensive about the idea at the beginning of this year, before we all got our clients but now I see what the other 'clinicians' (or so they call us) get to do with their adult clients and it looks so fun! So all and all it has really worked out for the best.
I had my first diagnostic on friday, so besides a midterm and brief paper this week, I also need to write up a diagnostic report. I thought it wouldnt be too hard at all considering I had written a bunch of assessment reports back when I worked at Cal PsychCare. But one of the hardest things here is that we can't take any identifying information out of the clinic, so its really hard to get any writing done at home. Or at least that is what I am telling myself tonight after a generally unproductive attempt at writing that diagnostic report. An early morning at the clinic will remedy it all.... hopefully.

back in class

But not in the LBC any more! This is just a quick update for those out of the loop, but I am back in San Diego to finish school at San Diego State. I am very excited about the amazing opportunity that I have been given at this program, there are some great bonuses that are available (including finishing a year earlier than if I stayed in Long Beach, woohoo!). The whole thing from the program to the dear friend that I get to live with has all come into my lap as an amazing gift from God that I did not expect and that I am so grateful for.

I am getting more and more excited (an less nervous) as each day goes by. The program is pretty intensive, which means we started class a week early in what the faculty like to call "speech bootcamp". And they aren't exaggerating really- six hour of 2 classes a day for 2 weeks straight. Then I get my first clinic assignment and start seeing 2 clients (on top of starting 3 other classes). I wonder who my clients will be, children or adults and what my clinic supervisor will be like.... On top of it all, I am part of an autism project (which I meet with tomorrow) and will be going to do field observations this semester, looking at what it looks like to collaborate across professions to best meet the needs of the child.

Can you tell I am excited? I go between excited and anxious/overwhelmed serveral times a day at least... It seems to be the pattern among my cohort, so at least I know I am in good company...

the morning after

With ears still buzzing, I am waking up this morning with happy memories of the beloved Bowl. I spent last night listening to the Decemberists and the LA Phil make music together that can be summed up in one word: magical. And I have come to a new conclusion: every ephemeral po-mo* band should hold a concert with a full orchestra behind them. It is how their music was meant to be heard: full.

What is not to love about a night with beautiful music, wonderful company, full-bodied wine, and delicious picnic food? I can think of no better way to spend a warm summer night.

*"po-mo = anything and everything post modern, especially winey rock bands" ~Mike

into the wind

Katie and I have signed up for sailing lesson for the summer- they start in 2 weeks.

This is the image of sailing that I have had for quite some time now (and the reason I signed up for the class): Sitting on a beautiful sailboat with four or five friends, enjoying the sun and a beer on a lazy Saturday afternoon. I have recently been told though that there is work involved. Work? What do you mean? No beer? No lounging? I guess there are ropes and pulleys and the wind to deal with and the boat that we are learning on may only fit one to two people, rather than five friends. My romanticized version of sailing has not been completely crushed yet, there is still a glimmer of hope in my heart for at least a bit of relaxing in the sun. At the same time, I am starting to think what did I get myself into?

I have one lesson learned though before the classes even start. This comes from a friend in San Diego who will go unnamed. When drinking on a sailboat during a hot Saturday afternoon, remember that there are actually no bathrooms available. You may just need to squat and pee in a bottle if it comes to that.

Lets hope not..... I don't think I have that skill, and I am not looking to be trained in it during our classes.

tart and sweet, fresh and airy

So because a one just opened down on 2nd street (and I am always looking for a distraction when it is really time to study), this post is dedicated to the yummy and delish pinkberry.

I don't know if you all have heard, but they have recently undergone some pretty serious accusations of heresy from the ice cream lords. I found this disclaimer on their website:
"As some of you are aware, claims have been made recently about the nature of our products. We want to assure everyone who enjoys pinkberry that the product is wholesome and made with fresh ingredients. We are, of course, investigating these claims and look forward to being able to demonstrate the quality of our product."

Crisis averted. We can all keep singing "Sorry ice cream, I’m on my way to pinkberry..."

ps: get the mochi, it is a delicious secret.

humps

Here's to listening to lyrics

worker's lounge

Does anyone else find those motivating posters up in your work lounge annoying and pretentious?

click

Is it worth spending money I don't have to buy a camera I don't need? Wait before you answer. It does cool stuff like this:

Creamy Creme

I had the pleasure recently of being responsible for my dad's birthday dinner. After an offer to pass the overdone 'birthday pie' idea, for the newer 'birthday creme brulee' dessert was accepted, I got to work. After comparing a few recipes for the custard base, I chose a happy medium of all. And passed the recommendation for 'creme brulee sugar' for just the plain old white stuff. I did get the opportunity to use my mom's kitchen torch instead of the broiler. After maybe the ninth creme brulee, I think I finally mastered the art of torching. Just a hint- even if you think it is done, or even burning too much, keep going. The only thing I may change in the future is to put less sugar in the custard, to contrast more with the crisp topping.

Creme Brulee

from a blend of recipes

Servings: 7-10 (depending on the size of the ramekins)

Time: 15 minutes (plus time in fridge to set)

• 2 cups of heavy cream
• 4 egg yolks
• 2/3 cup of sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 300. Put cream in a saucepan over medium low heat until it is barely simmering, then remove from the heat. Beat egg yolks, vanilla, salt and sugar together until creamy. Add hot cream to egg mixture slowly, careful not to cook the egg. Strain the mixture through a sieve to remove foam. Fill ramekins with creme mixture and bake in a hot water bath* for 30-35 minutes. The middle of the custard can still be pretty jiggly when you take them out and still be good. Remove ramekins from the water bath and allow to cool at room temperature for a bit. Then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. **You can stop at this point and store the creme brulees in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. When ready to serve, cover custard with 1-2 tsp of sugar and melt either with a torch or under a broiler.

*how to make a hot water bath: Wet a kitchen towel and put it in a baking dish, then put the ramekins in the dish and fill them with the custard. Fill the baking dish (outside of the ramekins) with hot water. I find it is sometimes easier to pour the water in the dish while the dish is in the oven (depending on how rickety the oven is).

Glorious Leftovers

I think that everyone isn't too excited about the word leftovers. But with the following simple recipe, I can have a smile when I open that refrigerator door with only the old roasted chicken left in it. The original recipe was for your leftover Thanksgiving turkey. I used a roasted chicken, but any fresh or older poultry would suffice. I love a good tortilla soup, and this is a really good one, especially because I don't skimp on the garnishes. My parents agreed that it was definitely a good soup, even though my dad had never heard of it.

Tortilla Soup

from: Fine Cooking Magazine

serves 3-4

time: 3o-40 minutes

soup

• 1 cup diced onion
• 2-4 tbsp chili powder (I did 2 tbsp and it wasn't spicy at all, next I will try 4 for sure)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 quarts chicken broth (low sodium, and then adjust the salt yourself)
• handful of cilantro (next time I will tie them up as it was a chore to fish them out)
• 2 cups shredded chicken
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 can of black beans (rinsed)
• 2 tomatoes, diced

garnishes (I recommend them all)

• corn tortilla, cut into strips and fried (shortcut: tortilla chips, but really I recommend bothering to fry your own tortilla strips- they were delicious)
• avocado
• lime juice
• fresh cilantro
• sour cream

Saute onion in a bit of oil in saucepan until soft, add chili powder and tomato paste and cook for 30 sec (don't let the chili powder burn). Add broth and cilantro and bring up to a simmer. Simmer uncovered to reduce by about 1/3 for about 20-30 minutes, or until you are happy with the concentration of flavors (while it is simmering you can fry up those tortilla strips). Remove cilantro and add salt if needed. Add chicken, beans and corn and cook about 5 minutes to warm it all up. Add tomato right before serving so it doesn't get too mushy. Dish up and add as many garnishes as you like.

Happy Festivus

Nothing says Merry Christmas like two lawn ordaments mating. Aw, our Naples neighbors never disappoint.

So here's to the Holidays.

And more importantly, here's to the Holidays being over.