Oh Hey There

Well it's been quite a few days since my last post. I know it's a crappy excuse, because really, what's easier than laying in bed and typing on a computer, but I've been sick and getting sicker and just haven't felt like posting anything new.

It's my birthday today! It's also snowing a LOT here but for some reason the campus hasn't been closed. None of the roads or sidewalks are plowed, and it's incredibly dangerous and difficult to get anywhere, by foot or by car.

I baked a flourless chocolate cake and cream cheese brownies this weekend for my birthday. The brownies are quite possibly the most delicious things I've ever cooked, but the cake is only average. The recipe required 1lb of chocolate, melted, a stick of butter, 9 eggs, and a cup of sugar, so seriously how could it be bad?? I think I just used the wrong kind of chocolate, and my oven sucks so it baked unevenly. The recipe called for dark chocolate, which I think, combined with the bottom and the edges getting overcooked, made the whole thing too bitter. I would make it again, but probably do half dark chocolate and half milk or semi-sweet.

Also, a HUGE important thing I learned from my dad is that if you put tin foil over a baking dish, it helps the thing cook more evenly. Once I realized the edges of the cake were burning but the inside was still mush, he told me to try foil and within 5 minutes the cake was set! I think it would have been completely ruined if I hadn't used the foil, so I tried it again with the cream cheese brownies and it fixed them too! Whoo, this makes the prospect of baking in a crappy oven for a long time just bearable.

Tonight, Steve (my boyfriend) and I are going to make lasagna--and by "make" I mean heat frozen, pre-packaged lasagna in the oven. I'm feeling too rotten to really cook, and he doesn't get home until about 10 tonight, so frozen is just easier. Anyway, lasagna is like the food of the gods, so it will be delicious regardless.

When I feel well enough to lift things again, I'm going to move the TV and DVD player out of my room. They're just sitting on my dresser, staring at me, taking up much-needed space that I could be using for books and pictures.

Now, off to play with my new spice rack (thanks, Debbie! I love it) then take a nap.

Learning lots,

Monica