two weeks to grown-uppitude and counting!
So-- I'm close to done! I got through the worst of this semester, and have one paper left to write. It's due Wednesday, and should be fairly interesting and straight forward. I graduate on Saturday, and if any of you wish to come, please do! My wonderful sister will be in town briefly, which will be super cool. After graduation, I move back to Newton, to live with the ever-awesome James-beast. I'm still planning to go into teaching, and I may have some interesting and surprising ways to get my foot in the door. More to come on that one.
After pulling a week of papers and little sleep, guess what? I got sick. But! James came out Thursday night and took care of me over the weekend. yay! We had a steady diet of sleep, cuddling, good food, and comedy movies (the holy trinity of comedy: Monty Python, Mel Brooks, and Muppets). I'm feeling much better than I have in months. Yay for James! (::sings:: Always look on the bright side of life! do de doo! doo doo de dee de doo)
Also, I got a fantastic book for myself recently that I want to share! It's called Bread Alone. It's fantastic, and written with exactly the attitude and practice I (want to) have about food and baking. Namely, knowing where your food comes from, and treating it as more than just fuel, but as something that feels good and warm and homey. Here's an excerpt:
"I try to bake breads that have that effect on me: beautiful loaves that look, feel, and taste like someone took time and really cared about them. That is a distinct characteristic of Old World breads. Looking at one of these special breads and holding it in my hands incites a memory-- not a clear and real memory, but a feeling of remembering, the feeling of sweet longing. The simple whole loaf is a momentary link to the long-gone past tucked away inside of me, inside all of us."
I desperately want to meet this man. A pilgrimage to his bakery in Boiceville, New York might need to be arranged at some point. If any of you bake, or would like to, or would like to join me in my journey of baking awesome bread, let me know! I think it will be fun, and I would be happy to share the book with you.
On an entirely different note, a couple people have been poking at me about what to get me for a graduation present. I always feel kind of weird posting wish lists, but if you are so inclined, thank you, and there is a list of nifty things that I have been drooling over behind the cut. Almost all of them are kitchen tools that would be used regularly, and would help me to create myself as the sustainable adult I would like to be. Others are just really nifty.
I've tried to include links for things, and I put a star (*) next to things that will become staple tools immediately (first tier drooling). Many of these are major equipment items. The things that are marked with a (-) are mostly cheaper, and are random things that would be infinitely helpful/nifty, but aren't as urgent. Thank you so much!
(NB: The websites I've marked are all really cool, and you should check them out for your own interest. Specifically, Lehman's has all sorts of non-electric and sustainable tools, many of which are made by the local Amish population. The bowl mill is a place in Vermont that has been making beautiful turned wooden bowls for centuries. They use nested lathes, and make a bunch of successively smaller bowls out of the same chunk of tree.)
General Kitchen Tools:
* Mortar and Pestle (Doesn't have to be this one)
*Ulu blade (for chopping herbs etc) and bowl
-A Double Boiler
Bread Making:
**Grain Mill (please please!) (also, James had the idea to provide power for this with the rowing machine. ::grin::)
*Large Wooden bowl (Will become a dedicated bread-making bowl)
*Hearth Oven Insert This is a super nifty thing that basically creates a brick oven inside of your regular oven. Squee!
-Baker's Peel
-Wooden Dough Scraper
Dairy:
- Mozzarella (and Ricotta!) Cheese Making Kit
- Yogurt Maker
Book:
- Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture
by Toby Hemenway
I'm now off to the library to finish the last of the work. If I haven't talked to you all semester, I'm sorry, but if you poke at me, I'll be sure to get back to you. The insanity of the last couple of months seriously interfered with my ability to function as a social monkey. Also, expect pokings from me in the near future, once I get settled in, I want to do some serious hanging out with people. Cheers!
~~S
After pulling a week of papers and little sleep, guess what? I got sick. But! James came out Thursday night and took care of me over the weekend. yay! We had a steady diet of sleep, cuddling, good food, and comedy movies (the holy trinity of comedy: Monty Python, Mel Brooks, and Muppets). I'm feeling much better than I have in months. Yay for James! (::sings:: Always look on the bright side of life! do de doo! doo doo de dee de doo)
Also, I got a fantastic book for myself recently that I want to share! It's called Bread Alone. It's fantastic, and written with exactly the attitude and practice I (want to) have about food and baking. Namely, knowing where your food comes from, and treating it as more than just fuel, but as something that feels good and warm and homey. Here's an excerpt:
"I try to bake breads that have that effect on me: beautiful loaves that look, feel, and taste like someone took time and really cared about them. That is a distinct characteristic of Old World breads. Looking at one of these special breads and holding it in my hands incites a memory-- not a clear and real memory, but a feeling of remembering, the feeling of sweet longing. The simple whole loaf is a momentary link to the long-gone past tucked away inside of me, inside all of us."
I desperately want to meet this man. A pilgrimage to his bakery in Boiceville, New York might need to be arranged at some point. If any of you bake, or would like to, or would like to join me in my journey of baking awesome bread, let me know! I think it will be fun, and I would be happy to share the book with you.
On an entirely different note, a couple people have been poking at me about what to get me for a graduation present. I always feel kind of weird posting wish lists, but if you are so inclined, thank you, and there is a list of nifty things that I have been drooling over behind the cut. Almost all of them are kitchen tools that would be used regularly, and would help me to create myself as the sustainable adult I would like to be. Others are just really nifty.
I've tried to include links for things, and I put a star (*) next to things that will become staple tools immediately (first tier drooling). Many of these are major equipment items. The things that are marked with a (-) are mostly cheaper, and are random things that would be infinitely helpful/nifty, but aren't as urgent. Thank you so much!
(NB: The websites I've marked are all really cool, and you should check them out for your own interest. Specifically, Lehman's has all sorts of non-electric and sustainable tools, many of which are made by the local Amish population. The bowl mill is a place in Vermont that has been making beautiful turned wooden bowls for centuries. They use nested lathes, and make a bunch of successively smaller bowls out of the same chunk of tree.)
General Kitchen Tools:
* Mortar and Pestle (Doesn't have to be this one)
*Ulu blade (for chopping herbs etc) and bowl
-A Double Boiler
Bread Making:
**Grain Mill (please please!) (also, James had the idea to provide power for this with the rowing machine. ::grin::)
*Large Wooden bowl (Will become a dedicated bread-making bowl)
*Hearth Oven Insert This is a super nifty thing that basically creates a brick oven inside of your regular oven. Squee!
-Baker's Peel
-Wooden Dough Scraper
Dairy:
- Mozzarella (and Ricotta!) Cheese Making Kit
- Yogurt Maker
Book:
- Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture
by Toby Hemenway
I'm now off to the library to finish the last of the work. If I haven't talked to you all semester, I'm sorry, but if you poke at me, I'll be sure to get back to you. The insanity of the last couple of months seriously interfered with my ability to function as a social monkey. Also, expect pokings from me in the near future, once I get settled in, I want to do some serious hanging out with people. Cheers!
~~S