The Glamorous Life of a Marathon Dissertation Writer and Cupcake Baker

I spent a lot of time in the late summer cooking, trying out new recipes, making pasta and home-brewed limoncello, knowing that before long, I would be in the middle of a new semester, swamped with student papers to grade and feeling the deadline to defend and deposit my dissertation loom large.

That's where we're at right now.

A year or two ago, I went to an academic conference and saw many of the scholars who populate my bookcases and essays. It was exciting. One of my favorite brilliant professors met us for sushi and sake (I'd never had sake before! I'm a complete lightweight!), and chatted with us as though we were people, friends, rather than as students. When we parted ways we spoke about the difficulties in writing, and I expressed anxiety about writing this dissertation. She hugged me and encouraged me to write, saying simply, "let's make a pact." This was a humbling and exhilarating moment for me-- thinking that someone I admire so much, whose work has helped shape the way I think about my own writing and critical approaches, could make a pact with me to write. This has been at the back of my brain, quietly urging me to keep going.

So for the past two months, I've been essentially living at my desk doing nothing but reading, re-reading, and writing (and rewriting!). I drink a lot of coffee. I eat trail mix and ramen and nori (omega 3's for my brain!). I obsess over my word count. I go through post-it notes like there's no tomorrow. I keep a pitcher of water and two sets of headphones by my side at all times. I wear wrist bands to stave off carpal tunnel.

(I feel like I should take up smoking, since all the best writers seem to chain smoke. Since I don't I've developed a habit of munching on mints as I type-- until I discovered that the icebreakers I've been downing mostly contain sugar substitutes called malitol and sorbitol, which, if you have too much in your system, can cause great g.i. distress!)

In any case, it's glorious. The cats stay up with me until all hours.

Here Mini implores me to quit typing and go to bed.

Here is one of my 2 crates of research (it is no longer in this fastidious order.) not to mention the piles of books on my table, floor, and bookshelves. Or the library books I have. Or the inter-library loan library I've accumulated.

And yet, in the backyard, I'm reminded that life continues on, that new life is growing even as I'm sequestering myself away so that I can finish writing my dissertation and finally graduate with my Ph.D.

We transplanted a patch of grass about 5" square, and it's sitting at the edge of our backyard patio, at the margin of our zero-scaping. Under the sod, we put down a layer of our own compost that's been accumulating and cooking for forever. And in the corner of this box of grass (that we call the "pet patch") emerged a cantaloupe vine. That has SIX cantaloupes on it. We didn' t plant them. We had no idea what they were for the longest time (watermelons? cucumbers? squash? pumpkins?) It's miraculous. Sometimes in the evenings, Zips goes out to water the plants, including the pet patch and the melons.

Since I've churned out 3 out of 4 chapters that will constitute the body of the diss, I've eased up a little bit. I've made vegetarian spicy sushi. A wonderful new puree of carrot soup that I'll have to post here.

Last night, Zips found and followed an awful (awful) recipe for carrot cake that was on the back of a raisin container (it called for shortening. it ended up with the texture of cornbread and tasted salty). So I threw it away and pulled out the vegan cupcake book. Every recipe I've tried, I swear, is amazing. The carrot cake cupcake is FREAKING DELICIOUS. The recipe makes literally 8 cupcakes, so there's no danger in overindulging (but you'll really really want to).

Carrot Cake Cupcakes (accidentally not vegan...)

2/3 c. flour

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cinnamon (I used closer to 1/2 tsp)

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

(I also added 1/4 tsp. ground cloves and 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg... why not?)

sift together dry ingredients

2/3 c. sugar (I'm out of white sugar, so used brown, and it tasted FINE)

1/3 c. veg. oil

1/3 c. plain soy yogurt (I'm out of soy yogurt, so used plain dairy yogurt, and it turned out FINE)

1 generous tsp. vanilla

Mix wet ingredients together until completely combined. Then add dry ingredients. Then fold in chunky bits:

1 c. shredded carrots (I grated one large-ish carrot)

1/4 c. raisins (and dry cranberries if you want to trick it out)

1/4 c. chopped walnuts (I skipped this)

Distribute into cupcake liners (fill 2/3 of the way) and bake for about 25 minutes, until they pass a toothpick test.

When they cool, frost with Cream Cheese Frosting (which you can also make!) Take a load off and eat one. Save one for breakfast (since they have carrots in them, they're healthy!)

So I have something to eat as I get back to work. Hopefully I'll post happy news soon. Either when I finish writing... or when we eat the cantaloupes!

Can you boil milk? Then you can make Chocolate Mousse!!

Easy Chocolate Mousse

1/2 c. soy milk

2 tsp. vanilla

2 tsp. (or more) brandy (or other liqueur of your choice)

1 Tb. instant coffee powder

10 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips

12 oz. silken tofu

Blend silken tofu until smooth.

Heat the soymilk in a pan. When it boils, turn off the heat and add instant coffee. Pour chocolate chips in a bowl and add heated milk to it. Add vanilla and brandy and stir until chips melt into glossy melty deliciousness.

Add melted chocolate to blender and blend until completely incorporated. Pour out into serving cups and refrigerate at least 1 1/2 to 2 hours before serving.

Kettle Style Potato Chips... in your Microwave?!

So late one night a couple weeks ago, I had a serious jones for potato chips. Which we didn't have. Nothing else really does it if all you want to crunch down on is some chips. So after Zips did a little web surfing, she announced that we would make our own. right now. ...in the microwave.

I was seriously skeptical. I thought potatoes would be floppy and perhaps eventually leathery if left in the microwave too long. But eventually, I gave in, and sliced a potato as thinly as humanly possible.

Then coated them with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and arranged them in a single layer on a microwave-safe plate.

We microwaved the plate for 2 minutes, flipped the chips over and gave them 2 more minutes. Then again. After about 6 minutes or so, the slices started to yellow. I gave it another minute and a half, then drained the chips on a paper towel.

When they cooled, they were crunchy. But more importantly, They Were Potato Chips.

We ended up making 3 batches, which isn't terribly energy or time efficient. But we just couldn't believe it! They were delicious. The thicker slices ended up tasting and crunching like kettle chips. The thinnest slices, the translucent ones I was sure would adhere to the plate and burn in the microwave ended up crisp and identical to original Lays. Curse my skepticism. Point: Zips.

Oh yeah...

... we also made graham crackers (though, not technically, since we didn't use graham flour)...

They're actually pretty easy and don't require any special ingredients you don't already have.

...and black and white cookies. I even purchased an old school ice cream scooper for these so they would be perfectly round and uniform in size (although I didn't realize they'd be as big as a cookie at a Starbucks!

Both were huge hits in the household (even though the chocolate half of the b/w cookie isn't as smooth as the white half). Oh, and both are from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar! You may as well just buy the book. Vegan or no vegan, everything in this is freaking delicious! (see also the carrot raisin cookies). I'm going to miss summertime cooking!

Vicarious Trips to Italy and Accidental Lowry's Seasoning

Another major project this past week has been a back-to-school care package of sorts for some of our favorite colleagues-- one of whom went to Italy this summer. Since I'm trying to become proficient with my beloved pasta machine, we decided to go all-out on a Little Italy extravaganza. I made a batch of spinach fettuccine (we bagged some and ate the rest!),

and an amazing raspberry vinegar, some of our home brew limoncello (which Zips has started referring to as moonshine),

some raspberry/strawberry syrups (not italian, but it goes well with the moonshine-- ooh, and you could use to make italian soda!), and some biscotti. (Chocolate and Almond Cranberry. I have the best recipe from a holiday issue of Vegetarian Times. I'll probably come back to this when we make it again in the fall!)

We got some cardboard boxes that looked like suitcases, so I painted and tricked them out to look like well-traveled steamer trunks.

Then packed the goodies in-- (this is before I had decided to make up a batch of the spinach pasta)-- Zips also made a great retro Franco-Italiano music mix that we dubbed "limoncello lounge".

In the process, we tried several other recipes for this and that homemade goodie, one of which was a "spice blend"-- that I realized, after whipping up a batch, tastes almost exactly like Lowry's Seasoned Salt. So much so, that after snapping this photo of it (with the Lowry's in the background), I literally dumped the entire homemade batch into my already opened Lowry's to top it off. (I decided not to gift it-- I didn't want our friends thinking I gave them a little glass jar of store-bought seasonings, pretending it was homemade!)

If you're interested, here's the recipe. It tastes fine. In fact, I will be happy to use this, since it is very flavorful and has no salt. Maybe I'll see if I can't whip up some Mrs. Dash's seasoning next!

The Accidental Lowry's

1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

3/4 tsp. thyme

1/2 tsp. oregano

1 1/2 tsp. onion powder

1 1/4 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. ground celery seed

1 1/2 tsp. white pepper

1 1/2 tsp. ground mustard

1 tsp. black pepper

New Projects

I've been holding onto this window pane ever since I was an undergrad in northern California. My senior year, I lived (along with several other intrepid art majors) in one of the (poorly insulated, abandoned) bungalows at what used to be the Aetna Springs Resort, built in the 1870's and adjacent to a golf course (that I once snuck onto in the middle of the night for a picnic), and formerly occupied by the Moonies. The buildings on the property were all abandoned, filled knee-deep with molding books and rusting furniture. The cottages that were live-able still often contained baffling artifacts like a hatch from Lost-- I remember once crawling underneath the bungalow I lived in, finding a cache of mildewing cardboard boxes filled with slide carousels from what looked like a presentation about alcoholism. If I lived there now, I'd have to become a video artist and re-stage scenes from '80's slasher flicks!

In any case, it was a paradise for photographers and collage and assemblage artists. (Once my entire assemblage sculpture class visited for an impromptu field trip/scavenger hunt for materials for a group sculpture-- we all ended up making 2 nearly life-size elephants.) I've kept a ton of old books from there (literally, they're very heavy), the occasional salvaged antique doorknob and keyplate, and this wonderful old window pane with three original panes of glass-- intending to do something with it, especially after seeing several similar windows used as picture frames in different places over the years.

Zips finally compelled me to finish it. I cleaned it, painted it, collaged the gold from joss papers on the edges, and had some photos printed especially for this. Each of the photos evokes the time we stayed in a log cabin for the weekend in Brown County, Indiana, and most of them were taken that weekend.

There's a birdhouse washtub, and a slate board that says "Nothing Matters More than This Day", a snapshot of the koi pond, and the red metal rocking chair from the front porch of the log cabin.

I'm really happy with it. It reminds me to be serene. Here and on the other side, I've included a "double happiness" from the joss papers.

Farmer's Market Feasting

Nearly a year ago exactly, Zips and I discovered the Albuquerque Downtown Grower's Market. And on a spur of the moment flash of madness, on Saturday we got up at 6 in the morning, to drive three hours to visit it again. We were reminded how much we love farmer's markets with their crazy abundant variety.

We picked up a dozen ears of corn, carrots, peaches, grapes, potatoes, lavender...

A basket of these adorable pear-shaped yellow tomatoes...

And if you go, you must swing by the booth belonging to Black Bird Pies. They often give out sample bites of pie (this time it was their sweet potato pie)...

...and they have the most amazing fruit juices. Again, Zips chose watermelon papaya and I picked the thai basil lemonade and the raspberry sage lemonade. They were all equally awesome (and inspired Zips to concoct Sweet Basil Watermelon Water with our feast).

When we got home (after swinging by Bella Luca on the way home. I'll have to write about their cannellini and greens that I ordered!), we decided to gorge ourselves to celebrate the end of another summer, and rather than just fix the usuals for our Sunday dinner, to make everything with some new recipes.

I already have a great recipe for peach pie, so decided to branch out and make peach galettes. The peaches we got were the size of plums, but they actually yielded more fruit than I expected (I could have more than made a pie!)

Peach Galettes

I used a different dough recipe for the crust-- but now that I've tried it, I think I'd just stick with my usual pie crust recipe, just roll it out a bit thinner. The dough recipe was 1 1/4 c. flour with 8Tb. butter and 1/4 c. ice water. It only gave me 2 crusts, so I had to half it and make a third galette when I had excess filling. If I did it all over again, I'd just use a regular pie crust recipe that would probably give me 4 galettes.

The filling was 6 c. of sliced peaches tossed with

2/3 c. sugar

big dash of cinnamon (1 tsp.)

small dash of ground cloves (1/4 tsp.)

small dash of nutmeg (1/4 tsp.)

1 Tb. flour

juice of 1/2 lemon

Place the peach filling in the center of each crust about an inch from the edges and then curl the crust around the filling. If you get greedy like me, you can stack the peach filling a bit more after you've created the edges of the galette. You can even drizzle in a little of the juice. Just don't over-do it like I did and get the bottom of your crust soggy even before baking it.

Then bake at 400 for about 30 minutes.

Zips sliced up the yellow tomatoes, sprinkled some of our sweet basil over it and drizzled it with olive oil. Then scooped out some of our locally grown watermelon before juicing the rest of it and adding some chopped sweet basil to the juice (it was delicious!). I cubed the potatoes and carrots and roasted them with some olive oil and rosemary from our garden.
But another high point and new discovery was corn pudding. Corn Pudding. Two words I never imagined together. I couldn't wrap my brain around it. I had no concept of what it would taste like. But nothing about it looked bad, so I gave it a whack and am so glad I did!

Zipper's Corn Pudding

2 or 3 ears of fresh corn-- de-kerneled

2/3 c. milk (most recipes call for whole milk. I used soy milk. It was delightfully light and fluffy. Perhaps when I try this again with the southwestern variation, I'll use whole milk to get the full effect before experimenting more)

1 egg

1 Tb. flour

1 tsp. sugar

salt + pepper

Handful of basil or cilantro (I used basil-- about 8 or 9 leaves chopped)

Pulse half of the corn kernels in a food processor. I did this until I had a kind of sweet corn mush. Then add the processed corn to the rest of the kernels, the dry ingredients, and the basil or cilantro.

In another bowl, mix together egg and milk, and add this to the corn mixture. Then pour into a baking dish and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. I finally got to use these little individual pans for like the second time in ten years!

It was an amazing feast-- that has left us both plagued with food ennui. I'll have to think up something quick to make life worth living after having eaten this sumptuously! Isn't that what summer's for?