KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON

Posted in General by sallybr

When we worked in Los Angeles last year, on one of our many walks through the city with Phil’s son Casey and his partner Carly, we found a cool poster for sale at a store, and bought it to send to our students while we were away. The message seemed quite appropriate, not only because we were far from our own lab at the time, but also because research can have many downs and not too many ups… 😉

Carly just sent me a link with the story behind our poster. It’s amazing that it struck a nerve for us; we had no idea of its historical relevance. Now we are overjoyed with the purchase, and we will cherish the message forever. A simple message for life. Keep calm, and carry on!

Thank you, Carly!

7Mar2012

IT ALL STARTED WITH A ROOF

Posted in General by sallybr

Back in 1999, when Phil and I were dating, his house was in desperate need of a new roof. While in college, he worked as a roofer to make some cash, so he was set on doing it all himself and asked if I’d be interested in helping “a little”. Of course, that meant I had to overcome my intense fear of heights, which was not easy. The first time I managed to go all the way up the ladder, I froze. I could not bring myself to take the final step up on the roof, and I could not come down either! The impasse seemed to last for an eternity, much to the amusement of a couple of neighbors watching the scene. I vaguely remember some screaming on my part. But, as you can see from the photos, I came, saw, and conquered! 😉

My job was to pull the old shingles and remove the tar paper underneath. Each shingle revealed an army of spiders running away in panic. A panic at first closely matched by my own, but within a couple of hours I barely even noticed them. A considerable amount of Aleve and sunscreen were consumed during those summer months, in which me, Phil, and his twin sons worked very very hard under the intense Oklahoman sun.

Phil installed the new, gorgeous roof, and I helped him roll out the new tar paper, and nail it in place. The evening after we finished the job, as we crashed on the sofa, absolutely exhausted, he popped the question “Will you marry me”?

March 07th, 2012.

Twelve extremely happy years married to my best friend, co-worker, running buddy, golf instructor… I look forward to the next twelve, and many more! 😉

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26Feb2012

THE OSCAR WINNER

Posted in General by sallybr

A couple of weeks ago we bought a small dog bed for Buck, as he loves to lay near the kitchen island, having learned that pieces of tasty stuff miraculously rain from above around that neighborhood. But the bed got intense competition from Oscar, who doesn’t quite “get” that the bed is not big enough for him.

So, we did the only sensible thing to do: bought a bigger bed for Oscar, and placed it next to Buck’s bed. Problem solved. Or…. was it really?

And what about Chief? Well, he’s got his own ideas about getting comfy….

20Jan2012

COOKING PROJECTS 2012

Posted in General by sallybr

This is not part of New Year Resolutions, this list is not intended to put pressure on me, it’s simply a summary of projects I’d like to tackle this year, but if I don’t get to some of them, 2013 will still be there, with open arms!

BEET PASTA
As you can see from the photo, this is something I’ve made in the past, but after cooking, the color completely faded away! I intend to try that pasta again, adding a higher proportion of pureed beets to the dough. Should be a fun project!

CROISSANTS.
I’ve made croissants in the past, and even blogged about them, but my attempts have been a disaster. I would like to get better and make a batch that would come a little closer to the great croissants we enjoyed in Paris. My hope is to follow the footsteps of the amazing TxFarmer, a regular contributor at The Fresh Loaf Forum. Check out her write up on croissants by clicking here.

BAGUETTES
I feel pretty comfortable making sourdough boules, but shaping a baguette is a skill that requires a lot of practice and patience, that virtue I lack. This year I would like to master the baguette, following the authentic shaping instead of the improvised methods I’ve used in the past. I have my favorite recipe to practice with, and will use this nice video to get the shaping right.

CODRUTA’S CHEESY FLATBREAD
About a year ago, I got to know a food blogger through a comment she left on the Bewitching. Even though she blogs in Romanian, I haven’t missed a single of her new posts ever since (thank you, Google translate!). She is an outstanding baker and a while ago posted a recipe for a flatbread full of childhood memories. Imagine a bread re-created after 30 years of first tasting it! I simply must make it! Check out her article about it here (she has the translator tool right on the site, so pick your language and enjoy it).

FISH WRAPPED IN POTATO SLICES
I’ve seen them in cooking shows, I’ve had them in restaurants a couple of times. Never attempted to make them at home, but always wanted to. Of course, I’ll need to find the best possible quality fish, and a tried-and-true recipe. Anne Burrell comes to mind…

CANDIED ORANGE PEEL
I never thought much about them, until a dear friend served us a chocolate mousse decorated with her homemade candied orange peel. I loved them so much, she brought me a small jar with the leftovers from the dessert, and I had to use all my self-control not to wolf down the whole thing. I must make them soon, very soon…

ALFAJORES
When I was in graduate school in Brazil, Silvia, a student from Argentina worked in the same lab. Once a year she would travel to Buenos Aires, and it never failed: when she arrived back, she would bring a couple of boxes of alfajores to the lab. We would go absolutely crazy for them! I’ve seen recipes in the net, and always wanted to make them. Maybe this will be My Year of the Alfajor!

And, the “best” for last:

GENOISE CAKE
There. I said the dreadful words. Many years ago I suffered a public humiliation serving a strawberry genoise cake at a party. I never ever attempted to make it again. You may wonder what made me change my mind. Believe it or not, it was Tony Horton, the fitness guru, developer of the P90X. I recently started his new P90X2 program, and the first routine has an exercise that Tony struggles with. He is obviously a strong, ultra-fit guy, but his balance is not the greatest. This particular exercise requires considerable balance and strength in legs and core. Before demonstrating it, he literally screams: “MY NEMESIS! I WILL CONQUER THEE!” And, he goes for it, hopping around, struggling, but following his own motto of “do your best”.

So, I will follow his example and “CONQUER THEE!” Not sure who will be my genoise teacher, maybe Tish Boyle? She better be ready for this herculean task… 😉

So, these are some of the cooking projects I have in mind for the near, and not so near future. What about you? Any fun cooking plans for 2012?

ONE YEAR AGO: No-Fuss Coffee Cake

TWO YEARS AGO: Swedish Limpa

13Jan2012

HALFTONE CALENDAR & FITNESS

Posted in General by sallybr

As I told you before, I keep my annual records of exercise, with the goal of each month exercising more than 50% of the days. Until now, my records had a boring look…

But, 2012 arrived with new ideas! My stepson Casey developed a cool halftone calendar that comes with empty circles, and each day you fill a circle with a black pen (a Sharpie marker works fine). On his site he offers quite a few options of images, for instance this Mona Lisa version, shown in the photo of his partner, actress extraordinaire Carly.

It took me only a few seconds to choose my image: Audrey Hepburn, with her unique aura of charm and beauty. You can see all available images for a calendar or poster here. Audrey’s image is in the bottom row, “Icons”.

Casey also made it possible to design your own calendar, from a photo stored on your computer. Just follow the instructions on his site, and you can get a unique product for you or a special friend.

So, where does the fitness fit in?

I will use my halftone calendar marking the days I exercise with a dark black dot, and leaving the other days blank. At the end of the year, I’ll take a photo of it. Hopefully I’ll have exercised often enough to see a distinct image. But, one could use it for all sorts of activities: do you want to skip drinking a few nights of the week? Mark the alcohol-free evenings! Study that foreign language you love so much? Meditate? Or, forget about keeping score, just pick an image you love, and have fun watching it form, one day, one dot at a time!

ONE YEAR AGO: A soup for what ails you

TWO YEARS AGO: Let it snow, let it snow, eggs in snow (a favorite dessert of ours!)