[Super Duper Fantastic] ISFP/INFP. 4w5. World Explorer. Super Hero. Rose-colored Glasses.

There’s a specific time in the banana’s ripening phase in which I will actually eat it. It’s that brief period of yellow when green has faded, and spots have not yet marred the beautiful sleek exterior of the banana. The insides have not had the time to get all mushy.

If I made all of our grocery decisions [Thankfully, I don't.], I probably would never buy them. However, seeing as they are a good source of potassium and RV actually does like them, bananas do make it into our kitchen.

Yesterday morning before heading out for dim sum with friends, I decided to try out this banana bread recipe. Of course, I never seem to have the appropriate ingredients, so I made a few alterations. Instead of margarine, I used butter. I used a combination of white and brown sugars, added a teaspoon of vanilla, and a dab or two of sour cream. While the bread didn’t turn out dry, it was a little bit crumbly and not sweet enough. I think it was because I didn’t use as many bananas as the recipe asked for, and I probably overdid it on the mixing.

Even though it didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to, the kitchen still smelled amazing! The car smelled fantastic too since we were out of the house soon after, banana bread in tow. I will have to try again when RV leaves enough overly ripened bananas sitting around.

It’s funny what a bit of gin can do to you. Okay, more than a bit. Quite a bit. Possibly too much. Add to that a sake bomb, and you’ve got trouble. While I was fully conscious from point A to point B to point C to home, it appears that there were many details that disappeared from memory Wednesday evening [Yes, partying on a school night!].

- talking the shirt off a guy’s back
- getting carried around on the backs of three friends [really only remember one]
- attempting to hail BMWs as if they were cabs [I know how to pick out a nice car!]
- requesting that a panhandler stand on his head
- trying to get a ride home with cops
- wandering into the street when doing all the above
- trying to get the cabbie to stop several times before reaching the house
- falling asleep on the hallway floor

Thankfully, RV took care of me and while I’m sure I threw a fit [in addition to my whining to go home], I am SOOOOO glad I wasn’t left to my own devices. I was surprised to find no photographic evidence or drunk social media updates the next morning. *phew* So of course, I go ahead and document it here since it rarely occurs.

In other news, I successfully baked chocolate chip cookies. *pats self on back*

Everyone starts with 24 hours in a day. How the 24 is allocated is where we differ. In order to maximize the ratio of awesome moments to available hours [that's 24 hours less sleep time, less $-making work time], I need to stop wasting time on ventures that offer no return whatsoever. They are the kinds you invest hours of time/effort for a big “fuck you” at the end.

So over it and determined to make the most of my 24 hours, I’d rather focus my energies on the positive than the negative. So far, what’s gone right?

MoA #1: After a week-long trial period paid in lunches, RV has signed on with a company! Salaried with benefits. Looks like he beat me to the full-time employment game. I’m still on contract, but on track to be signed on. Anyway, two incomes are better than one!

MoA #2: In an attempt to make cupcakes with brownie mix. I followed the instructions for the brownie mix [MY BAD!] and ended up with rock-hard brownies in cup form. It’s all a learning experience, regardless of how obvious a mistake I made and how embarrassing that can be. More than half have been eaten by RV, friends who came over for a movie night, and me. Once one gets over the rock hard exterior, there’s actually a delicious and chewy brownie inside! So even with the failed 101 in 1001 task, it wasn’t really a waste.

MoA #3: Festizio show at Red Devil Lounge on Sunday night. Great chance to support my friends’ band + check out a venue I’d never been to. It was their last show before they’re locking themselves up to record an EP in May, so it wasn’t one to be missed.

MoA #4: Inspired by Marie aka The Simplist and in an effort to get organized, I found a coupon for the Freedom Filer. 20% off! My set of tabs is coming in the mail soon, so I can get the file cabinet in order. Hours spent on sifting through paperwork will result in something magical, I hope.

It’s not even Hump Day, and it appears that my week is going well. What moments of awesome have you acknowledged thus far this week?

Here I am, posing with the mixer, as if just by owning the mixer I will be able to create magic in the kitchen. Well, it wasn’t magic, but at least it got me trying some recipes. RV won’t be the only one in the kitchen now, and I think he’ll appreciate that. Plus, he has more of a sweet tooth than I do, so he’ll be all over those desserts.

Any that turn out decently will probably end up at friends’ birthday parties. In fact, I brought the Lemon Snowflake Cookies [original recipe linked] to a birthday party the following evening, and they were a hit. A little on the cakey side as I mentioned before, but still quite tasty. And this evening, one of the friends who had come over for dinner the other night mentioned how much he liked the Slightly Lemon Lime Pie – I’d made him take a giant slice home, so that RV and I wouldn’t have to eat an entire half of a pie.

With the newly found baking confidence boost, I was convinced that I could make more. So I went ahead and sent a Facebook update asking friends and acquaintances for recommended cupcake recipes and basically hit jackpot. I am surrounded by foodies, so I shouldn’t really be surprised by the response. I’m pretty sure that a lot of the recipes are above my beginner baking skills, but I’m planning on giving them a shot anyway.

One of my 101 in 1001 is to learn to bake edible cupcakes – keyword: edible. It can’t be that difficult, right? So here’s the list so that I keep track:

- Chocolate Whiskey and Beer Cupcakes
- Chiffon Cake
- Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting
- Cupcakes that my friend Jen has made in the past
- Chocolate-Raspberry Cupcakes [from Kelly Leigh]
- Chocolate Cupcakes with Bacon Cream Cheese Frosting [from Erin]

They sound delicious, don’t they? That’s enough cupcakes to keep the mixer busy for awhile… I might try the cookies again, using the correct ingredients, but I may try looking for a different pie recipe. RV loves key lime pies, so I can’t say I won’t make them ever again, even though I don’t really eat them. Below: mixer in Lemon Snowflake Cookies action and the Slightly Lemon Lime Pie.

I think that the key to being successful with the Become An Early Riser in 5 Days challenge is going to bed early, and I haven’t done that at all this week. Yesterday morning, I was able to get up at a decent time, but this morning was a struggle. We had some friends over last night, and they weren’t out of the house until after 11pm. So the next week, new goal: go to bed by 10:30pm for the entire week. That may facilitate the whole waking up early bit.

Another part of waking up at all is that my body is sooo sore from the Burn SF workouts. My body feels better than ever. I have muscles in places I didn’t know muscles could be, but it really makes getting out of bed difficult! I’m still on the fence about continuing the membership since it costs so much, but I’ve basically pared it down to about two classes a week, even on a monthly unlimited schedule.

Anyway, I’ve started using the mixer!

For dessert last night, I made a Slightly Lemon Lime Pie, basically my version of this recipe. I used natural bottled lime juice rather than key limes [quicker, didn't see any key limes at the store] and instead of lime zest, I used lemon zest. The condensed milk and sour cream were a bit much for me, but everyone else seemed to like it, so YAY!

I also tried making these Lemon Snowflake Cookies, except I didn’t buy enough whipped topping and ended up using heavy whipping cream [whipped in the mixer!!]. They really flattened out in the oven, and because we didn’t leave them in long enough, they were more like cake-ies instead of cookies. We left the rest of the dough in the fridge, so hopefully tonight I can make ‘em more cookie-like.

I’ll have to add a photo or two to this entry later. Even though it wasn’t all that pretty of a process, it was a quick and fun way to break in the mixer!

Looks like Sergio is pretty comfortable with the current living situation. Soooo cute! He has a fuzzy face that I want to squish. Can you tell I’m totally loving this cat? I’m surprised that I’ve not yet had crazy allergy attacks. The allergy meds are sitting in a drawer in case they do attack on a moment’s notice though.

Surprisingly, I am still working on the Become An Early Riser in 5 Days challenge. This morning, I awoke at 6:40, but getting out of bed was a different question. Our super comfy mattress doesn’t help! Notice how I’m doing worse each day?

Since I had an appointment with the oral surgeon, I had to get up earlier than usual anyway. While I waited for about thirty minutes past my appointment time, the surgeon came in, saw me, and that was that. I’m still in recovery mode. Nothing exciting to report back, other than that I have to keep doing mouth-opening exercises. I have an appointment to check in with him in two months.

In other news, my sexy red mixer arrived! It is certainly as beautiful as I had hoped. But what shall I attempt to make first? Anyone who knows me knows that I’m not particularly skilled in the cooking department. Maybe I should stick with something that I already know, like a simple chocolate chip cookie recipe?

The possibilities are endless now that I am not mixing by hand with a spoon!

“If you plan on keeping him around, you’re lucky that he cooks,” my mother tells me the other evening.

She then gifts RV with a cookbook, so that he can experiment with the recipes and keep me well-fed. Hahaha. Yes, I am very lucky that he cooks. In fact, when there is cooking going on in the kitchen area, I stay out and let him do his thing. I’m only in the kitchen when I’m itching to bake. Itch to bake? Yes, it’s happened. Or maybe it’s just that wonderful smell that only comes from baking goodies that sparked my interest.

This big fat chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe actually didn’t turn out bad. In fact, it turned out way better than my first cookie made from scratch – a peanut butter cookie. As the sister will always remind me, the cookies from the very first batch were rather dry. It was like stuffing your face with a glob of chalk, if you could imagine that. Not pleasant. Someone could choke from inhaling the crumbs of that cookie. I made improvements subsequently. For the big fat chewy chocolate chip cookie, I used organic ingredients, fewer chocolate chips, and a little extra vanilla. I let the dough sit for quite a few hours, unlike another batch I’d made a few weeks before. More proof time was a good call, and the cookies turned out quite good. Still a little sweet for my tastes, but I’d follow a similar recipe again.

Since it appears that baked goods I mix up actually are edible, I might experiment more and bake others! I’m on my way to an edible cupcake, which is one of 101 in 1001. Stay tuned!

Who knew baking bread would take hours and hours and hours?! Well, I’m sure OTHER people know. I just didn’t realize it until yesterday when I tried it for the first time. It wasn’t a baking class or anything. Just a random experience brought on after various Twitter conversations! I arrived bright and early [7am!] at Danny’s place and stayed until about 6pm. Some of the preparation was done the night before, so luckily, we were able to prepare doughs, shape ‘em, and bake ‘em!

So what did we tackle? A whole lot! There was: focaccia, honey whole wheat, cumin whole wheat, sourdough, casatiello, and bagels. I didn’t make everything, but I worked on some things here and there! At times, it was a sticky mess. And other times, I was sitting there calculating percentages and ratios and this and that. Lots of math.

The results, although not always the tastiest, were worth it! I took home a delicious casatiello that tasted like a croissant with salami and cheese inside. Mmm… Danny didn’t use commercial yeast, so many of the recipes had to be altered accordingly…

More photos: here! And yes, that was attempt numero uno. I’ve labeled it as such because I intend to try it again! The long hours and mathematics haven’t scared me off yet.

On a side note, I started working on #030 of the 101 in 1001 – Do a Daily Self Photo project for a year.