not goodbye/humpday update

I think I almost broke my back trying to move a box of books. And I somehow crammed my entire senior year into 7 boxes, a bottomless duffel bag, a suitcase, and my backpack (which I'm shredding as soon as I get back to Durham.)

Somewhere around August (though maybe it was August the year before), I started thinking of all my firsts in college: 

First day at band camp. First football game. First trip. First Band Banquet. 

First final exam. First winter vacation. First summer vacation.

My first time meeting everyone I've known. I cycled through every story of how I met everyone I know multiple times throughout the first month of senior year. But I wasn't sad. I was hardly thinking of graduation, except how much I'll enjoy finally being done and moved on from college.

And then came the lasts: 

The last time I'd eat at the dining halls (thank god.)

The last morning I'd spend in the dark room (until I make a breakthrough and suddenly become a super-famous film photographer and get paid millions and millions and millions of cents.)

Two years ago: pack and reflect

The last time I'd see my closest friends in a long, long time. I cried a tiny bit on Saturday thinking of everyone I'd say goodbye to this week. And I said goodbye to most of them last night (and will say goodbye to the rest on Friday after the ceremony.) And I didn't cry. 

I haven't been sad to graduate, and I'm not sure I will, because I've been looking forward to having another summer vacation since November. And wherever I end up in the future (Japan), I know it'll be an unforgettable experience, and a natural next step in my life. But I have been struggling a bit lately with the whole "not knowing" thing, and the "will I ever see you again" thing. I had brunch with a friend last week and when I told him I'd be going abroad, he said: "Don't think of it as goodbye. It's, see ya later. I gotta take a vacation...a really, really long vacation." 

In other news, I made a graduation bucket list in November ("Son, you can't have a bucket list. You're too young," my mom says whenever I mention this), involving the popular things to do in LA that I haven't done. Well, I only managed one on the list. It was a tough one. I worked hard to reconcile with myself the idea that I might leave LA never having done this thing. 

It was...Disneyland.

I've been to two different Disneyworlds, and a Disney-adjacent Tokyo theme park based on Disneyworld. But I had never been to Disneyland or the adjacent California Adventures. I finally went on Friday (thanks, Amy), so now I can leave happy knowing I've been...to the happiest place on Earth. Wouldn't it be such a disaster if I had never been to Disneyland after living here for 4 years?

In the words of a wise friend: This isn't goodbye. It's see ya later. I have to take a long vacation first,

Nick P., B.A. East Asian Area Studies, Class of '13

orange-scented gluten-free chocolate chip cookies, and another un-humpday update

I got hella sick on Monday (a cold....karma :P) Then all of sudden, while I was at dinner last night, my ear starts throbbing (an ear infection....karma's a b***h.)* And now I don't want to do anything. 

*I don't know why I'm calling it karma. I've been a good boy all semester. Maybe everyone who has to suffer through another round of final exams cursed me because I finished everything a week ago and don't have any finals. 

Finals are a b***h.

I thought I was going to be whirlwind baking, packing, cleaning, singing, and travelling all week, but alas...too tired to bake, not much left to pack, too tired to even think about cleaning, too glorious to sing, and not really in the mood to go exploring. 

So I bring you another belated humpday update. Another un-humpday update. 

And also "hella." I don't say that, but it felt appropriate somehow. 

Two years ago: pack and reflect

As with the brownies, I realized that I've made plenty of different chocolate chip cookies: vegan chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chip rosemary cookies, frangelico cookies, chocolate chip sour cream cookies, toffee crunch cookies. I knew I had a recipe for chocolate chip cookies on here somewhere, but it's from over two years ago....when I was just starting to post recipes, and posting recipes for thinks I wasn't making very well...So I decided I needed a Do Over. 

But it turned into a make-over and these still aren't traditional chocolate chip cookies. I substituted the vanilla for orange extract, added orange zest, and used gluten-free flour. I need to use up what I have in my pantry, so I thought I'd experiment with whatever GF flours I have. I made a batch with white rice flour and one with almond flour. The almond ones were awful. The dough was stiff and dry, and the cookies were dense, crumbly, and flavorless. 

Here are the good ones. 

Gluten-Free Orange-scented Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes ~1 dozen, loosely based on Nestle recipe

½ c unsalted butter, softened

½ c granulated sugar 

½ c brown sugar 

1 egg

1 tsp orange extract

½ tsp orange zest

1 1/4 c gluten-free flour

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F

Cream together butter and sugars, and beat until light and fluffy. Add egg and keep mixing. Mix in extract and zest until fully combined.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

Gradually beat dry mixture into wet mixture until fully combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Bake 5 – 10 minutes, until lightly golden brown and set in the middle. 

Finding it hella hard to get out of bed these days,

Nick P.

lime muffins, and an un-humpday update

This, I fear, is a much belated humpday update.

So I guess it must be an...un-humpday update? Yes, a very merry un-humpday to you (yes, you.)

And so, just like this, I'm done with classes. Forever. 

Let me reiterate: No more college. No. More. College. I need to keep saying it to myself, lest it not be true. 

In the pastry department, I have a whole bag of whole wheat flour that I don't think I've ever touched, except to open, so be expecting a slew of wheaty pastries for the next two weeks as I frantically "clean out" my kitchen (try to eat everything in sight.) When I think of whole wheat pastries, I think of two things: autumn/winter pastries (cranberry things, gingerbread things) and somewhat-alternative-diet things (vegan pastries) that are relatively popular where I'm from (and usually delicious.) However, I don't think of spring or summer. Spring and summer are for muffins and fruits, and sometimes fruity muffins. 

But I discovered with this last experiment, that you can combine all of the above, and make a whole wheat-y, fruity muffin. I took a lemon recipe I found on Pinterest (link to original provided below) and messed up all the ingredients to make lime muffins (I just wanna watch the world burn.) 

Two years ago: failed angel food cake

I took a risk here: I replaced citrus with....citrus. And I made spring.

Spring with spring (lime) glaze. 

I wanted originally to only use wheat flour, to see what that would be like with citrus, but...I was afraid. So my inhibitions got the best of me and I only used a little. You hardly even notice, but I think they would be great all-whole-wheat, too. 

Henceforth and forevermore, this shall be the season known as...

Spring (lime.) 

Lime Muffins

based on "Perfect Lemon Muffins" from Top With Cinnamon 
makes 13-14 muffins

7 tbsp vegetable oil
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 ½ c AP flour

½ c whole-wheat flour
1/3 cup oats

1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp fresh lime zest (2-3 limes)
1/4 cup lime juice
1-2 tsp orange extract
1 1/8 cup (250 ml) milk
3/8 c greek yogurt*

Or you can do 1 c milk and 1/2 c buttermilk. I didn't want to buy buttermilk, so I used 3/8 c greek yogurt + 1/8 c milk mixed together. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Line a muffin tin with paper muffin cases.

If you have a food processor or stand mixer: mix together the oil, sugar and eggs until fully mixed. Add in the rest of the ingredients and ‘pulse’ in until just mixed.

If not: In a medum bowl, stir together the flour, oats, baking powder and soda, salt and zest. In a measuring jug, stir together the lime juice and extract, milk and yogurt. In a large bowl, cream together the oil and sugar, then mix in the eggs. Stir in half the flour mixture, then half the milk mixture, then the rest of the flour mixture, and lastly the rest of the milk mixture. Stir until just mixed.

Take your batter and divide equally among the muffin cups. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until risen and golden brown on top. Leave the muffins in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to cooling rack.

Lime Icing

2/3 – 1 cup (2.5-3.5 oz / 65-100g) powdered sugar
2-4 tbsp lime juice

In a small bowl, add the lime juice, 1 tbsp at a time, to the powdered sugar, stirring until you get a smooth, slightly thick icing. Spoon over the cooled muffins.

With Spring (lime) in my step,

Nick P.

humpday update

長い間は、ご無沙汰しておりまして、ごめんすみません。

("I haven't written for long, I'm sorry.") 

So big news: I got a job.

I got a job in Japan. I'm moving back to Japan at the end of July to teach English with the JET Program, for at least a year (the program is 1-3 years), so I'll be moving home in a month (a month from this past Sunday, to be uber-exact.) You'll have a year without baking (my baking), but do not fear!

I need to use as many of the ingredients in my pantry as possible before I move out, so you'll get a year's worth of baking in the next month (and just as much throughout the summer while I'm home.) 

I got the job offer three weeks ago from yesterday, and finally turned in all of my paperwork on Monday. All I've been able to think about for the last three weeks was the fact that I'm done with the job search for at least a year, and also that I get go home again for a while. But I also think about all the sweat, sunburns, and mosquitoes back home, and I don't quite look forward to those. 

Two years ago: madeleine's bakery

And what's more, I'm done with all of my classes and schoolwork a week from tomorrow (and graduation is 3 weeks away), so I have two weeks of vacation before going home. 

Suck on that. 

じゃね！

("See ya")

Nick P.