Sentimentalness

I'm going to jump on the "Say the things you're thankful for on your blog" band wagon, and I'm going to do it 3 days late. It's 3 days late because I was working 50% of the holiday weekend, and it's taken me a day or two to recover my holiday spirit. (Bah humbug.)


So here they are, in  no particular order, the things I was most thankful for over the weekend.


1. Being done with every other day call.
Because I told a patient "good evening" multiple times at 6 am Sunday morning.


2. 5 days from now, I'll be vacationing in San Francisco. 
(And hopefully get to see my favorite unprofessional TY buddy and his wife!)


3. My Cedar Creek winery bottle of Cedarburg Spice. 
It's Thanksgiving in a glass. 
And I've had a few glasses over the past couple days (in between call days, not during, I swear).


4. Being excited for snow. 
I put out my Christmas decorations, lit a candle, and started playing the horrible Christmas music cable channel. . . and all I was missing was snow.


5. Finding the music that exactly suites my mood. 
(Florence + The Machine tonight).


6. My sister. 
Because she texted me with hints that she might visit, and now I'm looking forward to it even though I don't even know if that's what she meant.


7. My second year resident.
Because he's smart and awesome and hard-working, and I hope someday to be as awesome.
(Not possible.)
And he was excited to get home early today (to his family) which helped me get home early (to my couch).


8. My couch.
For obvious reasons.

9. Arrested Development.

For giving me an entire Sunday of entertainment via Netflix. 

(Spent with #8 and a 2.7 pound tub of Trip Chocolate Cookie Dough. Glorious.)


10. My high school friends. 
Because some of us have grown up, found a soul mate, gotten a steady job, purchased a home, and had children.
And although I have done none of those things (possibly secondary to #9), they still love me exactly like they did in high school.
And because we started planning our New Year's Eve party via group email. I absolutely love our group emails.


11. A night on the town.
I spent one great Friday night in Cedar Rapids that included a beer in the basement, serving dinner in a homeless shelter, tickets to a hockey game, and finally pumpkin pie. Total success.


12. My co-resident in crime who shared call with me over the weekend. 

For being of a similar mind in our attitude towards the ridiculousness of call. 

For inviting me to Thanksgiving dinner with his family.

And then for letting me come over and eat leftovers when I missed dinner because I was seeing a patient.

13. My family. 

Because spending Thanksgiving time with someone else's family made me desperately miss my own.

I could probably think of more, but a baker's dozen seems good. Besides, once I've brought out the big guns like family, there's nothing else to top it. And it's cheesy, but this is, after all, the holidays.

A Hydration Haiku

I spent a glorious 4 day weekend in the Milwaukee area to visit my lovely friend Katie for her birthday. The weekend included a birthday bash, delicious food, and motorcycles! One of those delicious meals was lovingly prepared for me by Katie. Despite my protestations, she cooked for me on her birthday. But it was all for a good cause! Check out Katie's 29 before 29. (I'm famous!)


For some reason, I felt the need to document my weekend by photographing my beverages. So here it is, a hydration story told in pictures (pretty short story, more like a hydration haiku).

Wisconsin brewed.

Sweet and Spicy.

Katy's float and my Bloody Mary at the Comet Cafe.

A drink cleverly titled "The Pyrat"

And surrendered it was.

John Gold

There are so many fun ways to find new music (festivals, magazines, blogs), but the best and most reliable recommendations are always those from friends. My friend John texted me the other day asking if I listen to John Gold, from which I inferred that if I hadn't, I should. . . And I hadn't, so I did.

He suggested the song "cactusflower" from Gold's 2004 album, the eastside shake. It's excellent of course. (Take a listen at left.)

And, per my usual over-enthusiasm, I downloaded both that album and Gold's new album, a flower in your head. (Click the cover art to be directed to Gold's site, where you can download it for yourself at a pick-your-own price.)

Enjoy a couple of my current favorites from that album:

"skyscraper"

"augusta vail"

Lemon Goodness

I had a free day, so what do I do with my time? Do I do things I should do, like read or work on the presentation I'm giving next week? Of course not. Instead, I go to the grocery store, buy 2 pounds of powdered sugar, a pound of butter, and a few lemons.


I have previously listed a few cupcake recipes I'd like to attempt, and this is one of them. I used my time today to make these lemon cupcakes from mybakingaddiction.com.

Lemon Zest Cupcakes 

with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients (Cupcakes):
2 1/4 cups flour (The recipe actually says "cake flour". Is there a difference? I don't know. I used "regular old flour," and they turned out just fine.)
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
4 large egg whites (I use eggbeaters or the equivalent. Too much work to separate the whites from real eggs.)
1 1/2 cups sugar
Lemon zest from 2 lemons
1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature (I only had salted butter. Again, turned out ok.)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp lemon extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. (I don't have a sifter, so just mixed them together in a bowl. If you're using a stand mixer, use a different bowl for this. You'll need your stand mixer in step 4.)
3. Whisk together the buttermilk and egg whites in a medium bowl.

4. Put the sugar and lemon zest in your mixer bowl (or other large bowl) and rub together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant.
5. Add the butter to the sugar and lemon zest. Then beat at medium speed for 3 minutes.
6. Beat in the vanilla and lemon extract.
7. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture still beating at medium speed.
8. Beat in 1/2 the egg mixture.
9. Beat in 1/2 of the remaining flour mixture
10. Add the rest of the egg mixture.
11. Add the rest of the flour mixture and beat for another 2 minutes to ensure it is thoroughly mixed

12. Place the batter into cupcake tins (Makes 24 large cupcakes. I made 12 large cupcakes and 24 mini-cupcakes.  And yes, those are aluminum mini-cupcake pans. Someday, I'll buy a real one.)

13. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
14. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Ingredients (Frosting)*:
2 packages of cream cheese (8 oz), softened
1 stick butter, softened
2 pounds confectioners' sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
Juice of one lemon


1. Mix the butter and cream cheese together until well-combined (a mixer is definitely helpful for this).
2. Gradually add in the confectioners' sugar until fully mixed.
3. Add vanilla extract and lemon juice.
4. Frost!


*This makes enough frosting to thoroughly cover approximately 112 cupcakes. As the recipe doesn't make quite that many, you could probably safely cut this in half.

The wife of my co-worker is due to have their second baby tomorrow. I'm hoping that happens, so these cupcakes can become a bit more celebratory. Everything tastes better with an occasion!

Hipster Pairs

I spent last year in the neighborhood of Wicker Park in Chicago. Zion for hipsters. And I loved being surrounded by hipster-ness. 

Now I live in reality, and I am a clean cut Wisconsin girl working in a relatively conservative field. I can sport skinny jeans on the weekend, but high tops, fauxhawks, and baggy belted flannel are not a practical part of my daily life. However, I can live on the fringe by appreciating indie-rock and ridiculous sunglasses.

Here are my current favorite pairs (paired with some solid indie music):

Neko Case, "People Got A Lotta Nerve"

Purchased, quintessentially hipster-like,
from a booth at Lollapalooza

Tokyo Police Club, "Favourite Color"

Imitation Ray-Bans. When you sit on them on a regular basis,
the real thing isn't worth the money.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs,  "Shame and Fortune"

Target. What can't you get there?

Surrounding myself with greatness

Blagh. Been too busy with work to put together a coherent post (I'm on call as I type). However, here are a few randomly great things.

There are so many people I've been lucky enough to have in my life, and so many of them are doing much more interesting things than me. I love to share their amazingness.

My friend Sarah is the world's greatest art teacher, creative and hilarious.

Here is her blog (newly updated!) with gorgeous photos of her classroom and works of her budding artists: http://polkand2nd.com/


Check out her Etsy shop:

She is currently selling these beautiful felt cuffs. I adore the large button closures.

And I don't think my college friend Kate knows that I stalk her, but I have definitely checked out her website. She is a medical illustrator and has an incredible talent. (She even has cataract surgery illustrations! Yay!)

http://www.ktb-studios.com/
Better than Netter!

B.o.B. + Rivers Cuomo = Magic

Not my usual style, but I love Rivers Cuomo, and I'm loving this.

Guess which I like better, Top Chef or Top Chef: Just Desserts

For the most part, cookbooks don't hold any attraction for me. I am not a very good cook. I learned the joyous ease and versatility of a microwave at my mother's knee, and have happily nuked my way into adult life. Because of this, cookbooks serve merely to remind me of my chefly shortcomings. 

However, a bakebook is an entirely different story. Butter is something I can get excited about. I just read about this new collection of reinvented American dessert recipes entitled Baked Explorations on Design*Sponge, and now I have cookbook envy.

Check out Design*Sponge's description of the Monkey Bread, Whoopie Pies, Pumpkin Cheddar Muffins, Mississippi Mud Cake, and the unusual Tomato Soup Cupcakes with Mascarpone Frosting. *Sigh*

How can you go wrong with cupcakes??

One of the things I miss about Chicago are the "cupcakeries." (My favorite is Molly's Cupcakes in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. Although Sugar Bliss downtown has mini cupcakes, so you can try a few!)

One of my dreams in life is to open a bakery/ice cream sandwich shop, and I think the recent cupcake fad is a fun one. I haven't had time to bake any in awhile, but I'm starting to get the itch. Here are a few fun recipes I've made before and a few more I'd like to try.

1. Orange Chocolate Cupcakes 

Alyson Baker's Day to Day Wonderments (allysonbakerdesign.blogspot.com) 

(Click on the above title to get the recipe)

These cupcakes are easy because they start with a chocolate cake mix. I made them mini-cupcakes, and they came out moist and delicious. The orange and chocolate combination is tasty, pretty, and fun for a classy party.

2. Chocolate Graham Cracker Cupcakes with Toasted Marshmallow

Martha Stewart (marthastewart.com)

These cupcakes are a bit more time intensive, but worth the dedication. The graham cracker and chocolate crust at the bottom is a crunchy surprise, and the chocolate cake itself is good as well. The only thing I struggled with was the frosting. Mine turned out more liquid than any marshmallow I've ever eaten. I'm sure this is secondary to my skills (or lack thereof), but next time I'll get a jar of marshmallow fluff. I also toasted the (runny) marshmallow using the broil setting on the oven, which worked pretty well.

3. Lemon Zest with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

My Baking Addiction (mybakingaddiction.com)

I haven't tried these, but they are next on my list. I am a chocolate fan, of course, but there's something about the sweet/sour combination of lemony baked goods that I absolutely love.

4. Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcakes

Woman's Day Magazine (womansday.com)

I think peanut butter and chocolate is the most sinfully delicious combination. Filled cupcakes are also on my "things to bake" list, and these look simple enough for a first attempt.

5. And finally, check out this treasure trove of cupcake recipes! Top 20 Unique Cupcake Recipes from 2010 by myfindsonline.com. I especially want to try the Guiness cupcakes with Bailey's Irish Creme frosting, the Margarita cupcakes (with tequila in the frosting), and the Cinnamon roll cupcakes. I'm drooling just thinking about it!

My life really is that lame

Wow. . . I really have done nothing this week worth sharing.


So, instead, I will share the awesome things my friends have been sharing.
Here are excellently written blogs by a few people I'm lucky to know:

turtle soup
- design, crafts, gardening, food, and creativity

Livenlovecestlavie
- Chicago life, food, fitness, and medicine

The adventure of the edge of uncertainty
- sarcasm, music, and probably more food
(Authored by my sister; she hogged all the comedic sass genes)

Hope others enjoy their posts as much as I do!

Do you love me? Yes, Guster, I'll love you forever.

I think it's a bit much to post more than once a day, but on my music video perusal today, I found more I'd like to share!

I keep thinking that I've liked Guster for too many years, and one of these days, I'm going to grow out of their music. But I never do. I love "Demons" just as much as I did 10 years ago. (And I've added the song to the hopefully more consistently functional playlist at left!) 

Guster's new album, Easy Wonderful (to be released Oct 5th), is their first in awhile, and I am enjoying their new videos. The one for "Do You Love Me" is good, but I absolutely adore this video for "Stay With Me Jesus."

Stay With Me Jesus from Guster on Vimeo.


Do You Love Me from Guster on Vimeo.

Harpist for hire?

This is a fun video of Florence + the Machine at Oxegen Festival 2010. Not only is this great indie music, but it prominently features her harpist. I love hearing harp in unexpected places. (Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" is a classic.) I'm a bit rusty, but I'd be willing to polish up my skills if Florence offered me the job!

No fairweather fans here!

Once a year, in late summer, occurs this state's most emotional football match-up of the season. 

Now, my alma mater is the perpetual underdog in this annual event. As we rejoice in small victories, celebrating positive yardage, first downs, and successful open-field tackles, nothing softens the blow of inevitable defeat like a certain quantity of beer. However, before the game begins, while we still have hope that a day of upset after upset in other match-ups may somehow mean the same outcome for us, nothing tastes better than a great tailgate burger.

I'm not usually the one to host the tailgate, but this year, living minutes walk from the stadium made my place pretty ideal. In honor of my beloved team, I thought I'd class it up a little and attempt making my own burger patties.

I found an easy recipe with a relatively short list of ingredients, something I could make quickly and easily that morning.

Tailgate Burgers

Ingredients:

I used 3 pounds of 85/15 (15% fat) ground beef for about 12 patties.

1/2 onion, finely chopped

3 tsp soy sauce

3 tsp Worcester sauce

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper (or, my personal method, a few good shakes from the shaker)

1. Place ground beef in a large mixing bowl and add the above ingredients.

2. Knead until the ingredients are spread evenly throughout.

3. Form into burger patties. I made 12, about 1/4 pound burgers, but bigger would be tasty too.

4. Grill! And add toppings of your choice. (I found some amazing Wisconsin cheddar-bacon cheese, does it get better than that?)

5. And pair with a great beer. I love local beers and have found a good one brewed in Knoxille, IA. I have to admit, I bought Cornucopia by Peace-Tree Brewing Company for the great-looking bottle, and I'm going to keep buying it for the great taste!

"He's an XBOX, and I'm more Atari"

So, I've been introduced to this great site, Dropbox.com. You can upload files online and invite people to share them! Which means you can upload music to share! Brilliant! (Thanks to Jon for showing me the light. . . and sharing tons of awesome music.)

Listen to one of my new favorites at right, "Fuck You" by Cee Lo Green (courtesy of the aforementioned Jon)! In case you couldn't figure it out by the song title, might be PG13 for adult language. (Although, so is Little Lion Man, and I never gave that a disclaimer. Oh well.)




Also, because I develop strangely intense loyalties to things, and one of those things is the state of Wisconsin. . . Here is the link to a recent Muzzle of Bees post where you can download (for free!) the album Wisco: A tribute to Wilco's Summerteeth. Wilco's album covered by Wisconsin artists. I don't necessarily love Wilco, but I do love Wisconsin. So, support the land of cheese and beer and local music by buying downloading this awesome album concept.