Quote of the day:

I have to poo. Lauren, I want you to wipe my butt.

--Thomas, 4 years old.

Summer time...

OK, more nomming time!

My cousin and I made a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. Yum...

Here's the batter! Cocoa powder contributes to the chocolate deliciousness.

The baked result...

The frosted result...

The result going in my belly.

It has a very strange marshmallow like texture... the cake is super moist and spongy, but manages to be dense at the same time, hence marshmallow-y. But pillowy. And delish. It was so hot the day we made it, so the frosting was liquidy. It didn't hold up much in the center of the cake, but it held up nicely on the outside: butter, melted chocolate, powdered sugar. I think it tasted better the day after, when both the frosting and the cake had a little bit more time to set. Funny how that is...

Yesterday, we went to dim sum in downtown!

Hello, eggy custard tarts, about to join the cake in my belly...

The carnage.

Nowhere to be found..

...here I am again!

It's been a while, I've almost forgotten how to blog!

Currently working away on various writings, which is keeping me busy, aside from the NYTimes, a visiting cousin, and general laziness (2 hour nap today).

Just got back from a trip to good old Tiburon and Stanford... A typical view from the first place:

Some typical meals we had:

The whole trip, however, was atypical. It was extremely relaxing, full of good fun and good cheer. It could have been like any other weekend during the school year, when we left campus and gathered for a weekend. I couldn't have asked for more (well, maybe a whole summer spent there, and WiFi, hahaha. But not really on the WiFi front.).

Anyway, hope all is well with everyone!

P.S. Want to make almost every delicious summer salad in this series... especially this one: Spicy Quinoa, Cucumber and Tomato Salad

Feeeeesh.

Stanford and fish. A good combination!

Article: using stickleback fish to determine genetic basis for human coloration

Red, White, and Blue

Happy 4th!

To celebrate, I made something as American as apple pie... apple crisp!

Something red...

... and white! Peeled apples. The recipe called for peeled apples, but I could leave the skin on, on some of them, so I did just that. But in a fun swirly pattern. I used an assortment of apples: mostly Pink Lady apples, a couple Golden Delicious, a few Fuji, a few Gala.

A nice close-up look at a sliced portion of a Pink Lady apple.

Sliced apples in a red bowl. How patriotic!

And finally...

...something blue! The pastry crisp laid atop of the apples, in a blue baking dish. The dough was interesting: not sticky, super brown because of cinnamon... I was a little worried that it would be too cinnamon-y.

Here's the finished product- the crisp spread out a bit better than how I first laid it out. And, it wasn't that spicy. The cinnamon melded nicely with the super delicious apples that baked below, and the dough ended up being nice and crispy.

Enjoy the evening and tomorrow's holiday!

P.S. I need to bake more during the day to get better pictures in, as flash is never good for the food, and the inside light seems to never be sufficient.

July 2nd

It's funny how on July 1st, June gloom disappears altogether.

It's as if the weather has an on-off switch for that.

Lazylazylazylazy

Days in the sun are tiring. After coaching swim camp for 4 days, I come home and I'm ready to crash. So, I typically do for a few hours after ingesting delicious snacks, usually carb loaded. Something about exercise... I've requested pasta for dinner, yum. Today, though, I'm trying to stay awake so I can get better sleep at night, since I haven't really been able to sleep through the night without disruption.

So, tonight for dinner: zucchini flowers, pasta with ground turkey and tomato sauce with fresh mozzarella.

Will be in the bay area in a week! Hooray! :)

Update @10:51 pm-- Dinner was yummmm. So full still.
For your interest, one of the less spectacular NY Times slideshows, entitled "This Year's Model: Me." What up, MySpace.