Things that amaze me

Besides the ridiculosity of the weather in Dallas right now... Seriously. It was 70 degrees two days ago, dipped down below freezing overnight with 6 inches of snow, and will be back to 65 tomorrow. I really just don't understand it.
Anyways, Thursday was match day and much celebration ensued. This led to the inevitable minor wine spills on fabric and carpet and myself. Luckily, we've figured out by now what works for stains, which leads to my post. Cleaning products that amaze me.
1. Oxy-clean. Adding it to laundry is great, but it really shines for hard-core stain and mess cleanup if you add it to boiling water. Boiling water with oxy-clean will get wine out of upholstery, and is the sole reason that we may be able to get our pet deposit back (Reagan is well-trained, but there have been 2 times when he has gotten, ahem, ill when Ethan and I were both at work/school. Boiling water, adding oxy-clean, then going over it with a rug-doctor erases any memory of mishap)
2. Tide stain pen. spot of wine or coffee on your shirt? gone. I have no idea how it works.
3. Bar-Keeper's friend. When made into a paste, gets rid of those random gray streaks that occur when metal hits porcelain, gets rid of baked-on brown stains on glass baking dishes, cleans off the thingies under our burners, and has revitalized a thrift-store brass serving tray from the 60's that I got for about $4.
4. Febreze. I have used this on my hair in the past before Dallas bars went smoke-free. works wonders.
5. Magic Eraser. If anything is dingy that should be white, this usually takes care of it.

Of course, some of the best products are old-school, and may have been something your grandma used. Castile soap mixed with baking soda makes a great scrubber, Ketchup will shine up copper and stainless steel, And if you drop an egg on the kitchen floor you can pour table salt over it and sweep it all up...I am a huge klutz, and have used this trick many times :). I've also heard that newspapers are superior to paper towels for wiping down glass with glass cleaner (I have not tried this myself, as I haven't seen a newspaper in several months).

In other news, I became an aunt TWICE within a week. My nephew Mason was born on a Monday, and my niece Win was born the following Friday (two different moms, not really bizarre twins!). I of course forgot my camera when we went to see Mason, but here is a picture of Win. I think she looks a little like me, but with her Daddy's nose.


Also, for those wondering, I matched at UTSW in general surgery. I will save the details of that for a different post

Made in America

When we were vacationing in France, one of the things that struck us was how proud the French were of their country, and how many of their products were locally made. From simple ceramics to rolling pins to expensive copper cookware, most of the things we came across were made within France. Even McDonalds has commited to using mostly locally farmed French produce and meat within the Paris stores (because that was the only way they could entice people to eat there). We decided to do something similar with our own household purchases. We had already started; our dishes are Fiestaware, our glasses are made by Anchor Hocking (thanks Aunt Kirsten!) and we have some Lodge and Pyrex things as well.
What was most striking to me was when I visited a store that I used to think was extremely cute and artsy (albeit expensive) and realized that EVERYTHING THEY CARRIED was made in China. I'm not naming names, but it rhymes with schmanthropologie. I thought to myself, "why am supposed to think it's okay to pay $70 for this shirt when it's made in China, across the street from the people working for Target?". I understand paying more for something that's made by people getting paid a fair wage, for well-made and sturdy goods. But paying more because I'm funding an advertising campaign seems pretty stupid. So NO more. We've decided to try and buy American-made when we can, to support our country and to ensure that we're not contributing to undemocratic working conditions. Here are some of the beautiful things that we either already have or are lusting after:

Anchor Hocking

We have Anchor Hocking Glasses for everyday use, as well as some pie plates. They also make other glass cooking products, drinkware, mixing bowls, and serveware. I am lusting after the contemporary serving bowls to use as both mixing and serving bowls; however, I am pretty klutzy (I actually recently broke a mellamine mixing bowl, so I'm not sure glass is the best idea) but they're very pretty if you don't have butterfingers like me. And also great because everyone seems to be worried about chemicals leeching out of plastic these days.

Fiestaware

I started buying Fiestaware when I was 18 and about to move into my very first apartment. I started out with 4 place settings, and have grown to have 9 in various colors, along with a cream/sugar set, salt and pepper shakers, and even Fiestaware dog bowls for Reagan. It's hardy and fun. It makes every meal a Fiesta!

Buck Knives

Ethan has an everyday collapsible knife from this Company that was given to him for his birthday and he loves it. We both agree that their steak knives would be a beautiful and functional addition to our kitchen (as soon as we're making income and not living on student loans!)


Pyrex

Everyone loves Pyrex! We have many of their baking and cooking items, and they're great. Their vintage glass refrigerator storage has recently gained popularity-Ethan's mom has a large set that she got when she was first Married, and it's kind of awesome (although I'm secretly afraid of dropping it...)

Blue Star


Blue Star ovens are awesome... I beleive they are less expensive than other super-expensive ovens (like Viking) for similar or superior quality. They have a 22,000 BTU burner, the highest in the industry, as well as tons of color choices. We've already agreed that when we're rich and famous we'll get a 60 inch Blue Star range and cook all the time. That will probably happen in about 30-40 years. I plan ahead.


Lodge Logic



Lodge cast iron has been made for years and years. We got a cast-iron skillet for a wedding present from my Grandma Jan, and it is in constant rotation. We use it for bacon, fried eggs, searing meats, and frittatas. It is AWESOME. However, it should be mentioned that their enameled dutch ovens are an exception to the American-made glory; they are made in China of French enamel.

Rodney Kent


We got a Rodney Kent serving platter as a wedding gift. It's made of Magalon, a magnesium-aluminum alloy that is oven-proof. We honestly just picked it because we liked the look, but since receiving our platter I have researched it a bit more; Rodney Kent aluminum serving pieces were very popular in the 1940s and 1950s as wedding gifts, and it is readily collectible on Ebay (hint, hint, birthday gifts!). It is affordable enough that we can continue to add to our collection, and it is beautiful and rustic at the same time.

If you're interested in more American-made products, you can visit this website. This is by no means a comprehensive website, but it is useful as a starting point.

random

Yesterday at Central Market:
Random Lady: You and that man you're with... you look like you should be doing something in the Olympics!
Me: ha ha, thanks! How flattering!(Thinking, yeah I used to be athletic, but right now the only competition I could probably win would be the "who can reach the glasses at the back of the very top shelf of the cabinet" game)

Random Lady: you are both just so tall and athletic looking... Is he your brother?
Me: Um no, my husband (Thinking, I really hope you didn't ask me that AFTER seeing us smooch in the cheese section... We have a tendency to make the CM sample smorgasbord into a mini-date. It makes grocery shopping super fun.)

Not My Brother


For some reason, people tend to think that if you're tall, and hanging out with someone else tall, then you MUST be related. I have a friend at school who is an inch or so taller than me, and people have stopped us in the hallway to ask if we were twins. And our course directors have called us by each other's names. This would NEVER happen if we were both 5'8"

Not my Twin

Birthday Cake

It's no secret that I love baking. I like combining different flavors and seeing what happens. The only thing I like better is eating something delicious after I baked it (especially if I was unsure of the outcome prior to tasting said creation). And I'm getting pretty good at it, because I have both a major sweet tooth and an aversion to store-bought baked goods.*
So of course when Ethan's birthday came around, I had to make the cake myself. Shockingly, this is the first cake I've baked since our wedding cake! Not to worry, I've made like twenty pies over the last few months, as well as Christmas cookies, quick breads, brownies, and home-made hot fudge sauce. But since I hadn't made a cake in so long, I wanted to try something new and exciting. I ended up combining a Banana cake from the Austin Junior League cookbook Necessities And Temptations with a coconut-pecan filling from The New Best Recipe Cookbook and topping it all with whipped cream frosting.

And it was the biggest cake of all time. Seriously. I baked it in 2 9" round pans, but the layers were so thick I ended up splitting them in half. The cake was about 6-7 inches tall and felt like it weighed about 15-20 lbs.




The inside:


Recipe for Banana Cake:
1 cup butter, room temp
3 cups sugar
4 eggs
6 very ripe mashed bananas
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup sour cream
3 cups all purpose flour

preheat oven to 325; grease and flour 2 9 inch round pans or 3 8 inch round pans. (I used 9 inch)
Cream together butter and sugar.
add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition
beat in bananas
mix baking soda with sour cream; add to banana mixture
add flour and mix well.
bake 25-45 minutes (longer if using 2 nine inch pans, shorter if using 3 8 inch pans; also, may want to decrease temp slightly if using 9 inch pans)
Cook in pans on wire racks for 10 mins; then let cool solo on wire racks.

Recipe for Coconut Pecan filling:
4 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, toasted
2 cups lightly packed sweetened flaked coconut

Mix egg yolks, sugar, and salt in medium bowl. beat in butter, then gradually add cream and vanilla into mixture. pour into a medium saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is puffy and thickened (180 degrees). pour into medium bowl and allow to cool slightly. add pecans and coconut.

Recipe for whipped cream frosting:
beat heavy cream until it becomes whipped cream, then beat some more so it becomes very THICK whipped cream. add vanilla extract and powdered sugar to taste.

To assemble: split cake layers in half with a long sharp knife (two short rounds rather than one tall one). use one layer, 1/3 of filling, second layer, another 1/3 of filling, third layer, last 1/3 of filling, 4th layer, cover the whole thing with frosting.

*My exception to the no store-bought baked goods is the Berry Chantilly from Whole foods, in sheet cake form. I can eat that until it gives me a belly ache.

Random list of things I want

1. To get into a residency, hopefully somewhere within my top 5 programs (I find out in March if I matched and where)
2. A bigger kitchen that doesn't make me feel like I'm standing on a gentle slope while at the stove... It would be nice if when I tried to fry an egg, it stayed in the middle of the pan and didn't wander downhill.
3. Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 2, in hardcover.

4. A sewing machine

5. To take a road trip through the Southwestern states after my clinical duties are finished and Ethan has graduated.

6. time and space to re-paint some of the furniture that we've inherited. I'm thinking some gray bookshelves and a cobalt blue desk.

7. This poster, big, and framed. but maybe not till we move... Because I laugh when I see it AND I think it's pretty.

8. A nap.

Family wall

We just recently got around to ordering a few pictures from our wedding to put out on display. I had previously designed and bought a wedding photo coffee-table book from Blurb, but we didn't have any pictures up. We are not the type of people who feel the need to cram big artfully-arranged collages of wedding pictures on every wall or flat surface of our home. Nor did we want any pictures of ourselves that were life-size or bigger (although our photographer did say that he knew of a place where we could get a 24"x36" picture of ourselves... We did enjoy your work Budi, but I don't want to see my own face that big, ever).
So we got a 5x7 of us cutting the cake (which is hung in the kitchen, next to where I baked it!)

we also got a bridal picture of me for my mom,

and a ceremony picture for each set of parents.

For ourselves we got an 8x10 of our favorite picture from the day, to put up on our family wall.


It was taken at the end of the afternoon, after we had said the vows and cut the cake and were ready to go home and nap, but we both look so happy and it perfectly captured the mood we were in.



I started this wall when the apartment was just mine, using old family photos. I added some pieces of art; the print of a yellow rose was selected because my dad always gave my mom yellow roses for their anniversary. The paper cutting of a tree that I made for our wedding announcements is there. When we were looking for some of Ethan's things in his parent's garage, we found an old photo of his mom dressed up as a majorette (it makes me smile every time I see it!) and I framed a piece of vintage lace that we picked up at a shop in Paris on our honeymoon. And when we got our wedding picture, we knew that the family wall was the obvious place to hang it. The wall now looks finished to me.

PS if you're wondering about the frames, the clip frames are all from Micheal's, and the other frames are from the Ribba line at Ikea.

snow day

This is DALLAS, from February 11. We got 12.5 inches of snow!