[F]EASTER

Exams are quickly approaching but my roommate and I decided that Easter is not a holiday we can overlook. While we could have been observant and gone to church we decided to recognize the holiday the way we recognize most things, we cooked. I wasn't too excited about it at first, I knew the time involved with this kind of meal and I am starting to feel the exam pressure. But we did it anyway and the results were amazing (if comically large.)

First we had to buy a ham. The smallest we could find bone in was ten pounds. There are two of us (and Grace) but we decided to get what they had and figured the bone was a good portion of the weight. (Why is it that meat can't be found in reasonable quantities?) I think that the people at the supermarket thought we were crazy, our bodies half in the freezer hoping to find one that weighed an ounce less.

 Notice the ham, with a glaze homemade by my roommate. (Oh and did I mention that on Thursday we had a whole chicken so while we were making the feast I was also making chicken stock?)

 My asparagus with a lemon rue, and my first attempt ever carving. Neither, my roommate and I, who both have extensive cooking experience, had carved and we find it funny that it is such a "man's task."

Notice the yams, and the mashed potatoes and the homemade bread. Also not pictured the mini-cheesecakes we had for dessert. (Guess whose house is not carb free?) 

Grace waited patiently hoping ham would fall.

And yes that is a croque minsieur,
which I will be consuming throughout exams.
We still have 9.8 Lbs of ham to consume

Beer... it's not just for breakfast anymore.

So I guess it is going to become tradition for me to write about my baking habits on minor holidays and not much else. (I do promise that there are more exciting and interesting law school related bits coming.) But I have actual pictures for this, and it is about something mildly entertaining that isn't reading and writing for hours. 

Anyway coming from a family that recognizes its Irish roots (probably perceives them as stronger than they are, but thats another story) Saint Patrick's Day was a pretty big deal. I can remember getting into a debate with my cousin about the merits of Kelly v. Emerald green as true green and being pinched in the morning for not wearing green pajamas.

This year was pretty boring, because law school has taken up my life, and somewhere along the way I became responsible i didn't even have a drink. But I did make Guinness cupcakes. Which are amazing. I double the beer in mine so they actually taste like stout and they came out so well. Plus it is really fun to give food away. Anyway...   

  

Grace is a fan of all baked goods, beer not so much.

Okay so I kinda love exams...

Well only sorta...

First off I know that this puts me at odds with most of the world.

And it doesn't mean that if, given the choice to not have to take them or not have them count for a grade I wouldn't jump at the chance.

What I mean is, accepting the reality that this is something I have to do I will accept it and see the good in them:
I like the idea that I have four hours to sit down and prove myself. It is kind of exciting, like I am in some sort of epic, albeit nerdy, battle with my professors where I have to save my self from a death of drowning in debt or sodium poisoning from over consumption of ramen. Okay, so it isn't really all that epic but the idea of sitting down and proving yourself does have a certain appeal.
The other thing I like is that they bring with them this weird other worldliness where you are both EXTREMELY crazy busy and stressed and at the same time have no plans and quite a bit of freedom. I loved winter exams at Cal especially, because there was a general sense of batting down the hatches and all focusing together; everything would get really quiet. You would walk by a frat house on a Friday night coming back from the library and it would be silent.
Law school it is a little different, in part because I am no longer surrounded by students, and Grace could care less, she just cares that we aren't giving her nearly the level of attention she expects for when we are at home. Honnestly at one point I was sure out lack of attention had "broken the dog," when I was cooking eggs and bacon and she stayed looking sad on the guest bed. (Don't worry she recovered.) Also because my roommate and I are both stress eaters, this time involves a lot of supplemental baking, I am pretty sure the peanut butter cookies are what revived Grace. In all it has been a good thing for our relationship as roommates (which is not always the case with exams.) We both take the same approach to exams: getting through what we can and trying to preserve sanity, trying not to deviate into extreme behavior (of either the distraction or focus type.) We spent the better part of an hour laughing over our favorite blogs.* It is one of my best memories for the semester even if it did give me another thing to waste my time with.

Grace "helping" bake cookies

All and all it is kind of nice. You don't have many times in your life where a period of time is set aside so that you can organize your life and get your head sorted out. Which is really what I try to think of this as. Because the alternative, three weeks where you do everything you can to keep yourself from becoming a smarmy plaintiffs lawyer who gets shot by a deranged client, after alienating everyone in your life close to you, is just too depressing to think about. (True albeit slightly altered story.)

*(The impetus of this being the author of my favorite blog writing to tell me that she liked the title of my blog. Insert obnoxious fan girl squeeing. -If you don't know what this sound is ask a thirteen year old about Justin Beiber or Edward Cullen. If you do not know who these people are you are a better person than me and obviously have a fulfilling life)  

This is what happens when you go into Whole Foods hungry and depressed...

You come out with twenty dollars worth of chocolate and cheese, and you eat half a loaf of bread before you get home...

My roommate and I frequently eat dinner together. Often it is a sort of "graze-y" meal where we are trying to clear out the fridge. One of our favorite things, (and the meal we brought to the rally to Restore Sanity) is simple sandwiches, just sliced tomatoes on good quality bread with fresh mozzarella, melted. They are supper good, because we use really good ingredients. Anyway our bread from the last week hadn't been refrigerated (my bad) so I volunteered to pick up a new loaf from the Whole Foods that is next to metro. Bad idea, not only was I hungry because it had been a long day, but more importantly I was overwhelmed by a slough of bad information and the pressure of impending finals. As anyone who knows me knows, I deal with stress and sadness by eating and shopping (not necessarily at the same time- not that I would say no), preferably for luxury goods and rich foods (not a good thing for someone who is living on government loans.) So Whole Foods for me is like a crack den for a junkie, lets just say the results were tasty but not good for my wallet. I left excited about my meal but wondering how I had managed to do so much damage and only come out with a single bag? So now I have the existing stress and sadness coupled with guilt over my inability to restrain myself.

What do I do?

I eat half the baguette I bought on the way home.
 (Technically an arrest-able offence on DC metro.)

Also, on a somewhat side note, I find it a little depressing that the cookies that are advertised as "chocolate chewies" are actually crunchie cookies. In the box they look deceptively like my grandmother's "chocolate gooey cookies" but no they are actually crunchy. (The law student in me thinks that this is a breach of the contract they formed. Wait you say, they were just poorly advertised, there wasn't any contract- I say oh no. Quick law school 101 moment: there are three elements for a contract to be formed: Offer, Acceptance and Consideration. Whole foods offered to contract for chewy cookies, (this was a unilateral contract which I could only accept through performance) I accepted when I gave consideration for in the form of money. The offer was for chewy cookies and that was not delivered therefore I am entitled to restitution damages, but only if I want to go through the trouble of taking them back, and I am not sure if I am motivated enough to do that.) The rhetor in me says, why not call them that Chocolate Crunchies- It is still an alliteration, and then they wouldn't be lying. Honestly though none of it matters because I left them on the dining room table and Grace jumped up and ate the whole box, mostly I am relived that I didn't kill my roommate's dog.

Why did I wear jeans? Jeans have no give!

Dip girl is leaving in less than a week and because of this we are filling the week up. (More on that when I have a moment.) But tonight we went out to an amazing restaurant in Adams Morgan, Casa Oaxaca and ate and drank for hours. I made the mistake of wearing tight 501's. At the time I regretted it but now I am excited about my lunch tomorrow so I guess it was a good thing.     

Joey in one of my all time favorite friend's episodes wearing maternity pants for thanksgiving
not the worst idea 

This is why I have a roommate

Today as I was unpacking my bag my roommate cam into my room. We were chatting about this and that and our love for the former tenants, who signed us up for massive numbers of coupons, came up. We chatted a little bit looking at places that looked good and we might want to try. Commenting on the totally free ones. I was thumbing through them and she was playing with the dog, both of generally quite and contemplative, as is frequently the case when we get home exhausted from a long day.

"We have to use this one soon it expires Monday" I say of the free smoothie coupon from McDonalds. I finish getting my stuff out intent to work and she says "hey do you want to go now?" I think knowing very well that the responsible thing to do would be work some more but say "yea lets go." 

As we unhook the roof on her miata, to enjoy the last colorful moment of the sunset and then the perfect fall night we were having she asks "do you want to get five guys after?"

"yes" we both smile and laugh.

It was great to go into McDonalds and pay nothing, especially because you know the intent is to suck you in and have you buy something. (My personal good dead for the rainforest today) The smoothie was very good, espeically because it was free, but I don't think Jamba Juice has anything to worry about. 

Five guys was amazing as ever. I think Grace ate as many fries as my roommate combined, I am surprised she hasn't thrown up. (she is quite the pig but more on that later.)

It was a really good evening, the sort of evening you hope to have when you respond to a post on your universities housing board.     

Monday on Friday

It has been a tough week, and I know that it is only going to get more difficult. At least I am comforted by the fact that much of my frustration has been over the fact that my computer is dying and I plan on buying a new one this weekend.
Monday I spent all day with DC dad getting my room set up. After some frustration and a lot of maneuvering we were able to get all of the large pieces assembled. So there are no longer boxes in my room. We didn't get to the side tables or my curtain rods, but hopefully I can get the side tables together on my own and the rest can wait for another time.

Gotta love restaurant week!

Later on Monday I went to dinner with Dip Girl and some other friends. The restaurant, Zengo, was incredibly good, it was an Asian Latin fusion place that funnily enough is right under the building I lived in three years ago. I had wanted to try it then but it never worked out, which is really what restaurant week is for. I had soft shell crabs, which I love and are amazing, scallops, and a chili chocolate cake. I love it when places offer their whole menu as an option and don't pare it down too far.

After dinner I went to the Bed Bath and Beyond which is right next door to pick up a dust buster. I love the thing! It is an amazing tool, especially when you have a dog and hardwood floors.

Finally... last weekend

Ice Cream and Bio-Degradable spoons yes please!

Okay, this has been a long time coming, and I am sorry for that. I actually wrote this post twice but am having some computer difficulties. (Namely my computer is nearing the ripe old age of seven and her- yes I am anthropomorphizing her- hard drive is dying. Thankfully i have everything backed up so it shouldn't be a huge problem but it does mean I know where the last of my graduation money is going.)
But my weekend...
I spent Saturday doing homework (yes real homework, I had to read and brief cases for my contracts classes.) I also cleaned the house. I spent the evening with Dip Girl barbecuing and getting ready for Sunday, namely we baked. We made coco pink couplets, which are amazing, and watched cheesey chick-flicks.  A group of us decided to go wine tasting and do a potluck picnic at one of the vineyards.

Leaving town when the weather finally cleared

It was an AMAZING day, despite the weather, we had two of our group try to back out because of drizzle. But it ended up clearing in time for us to eat and walk around Middleburg and adorable town (kind of like Carmel but with fox hunting instead of golf.)    
Wine tasting in Virginia has been a new experience for me. Growing up where I did I was raised around wine culture and I love going to Napa. When I have done tasting in California I tend to seek out wineries with big bold reds (and sparkling wine, I love Champaign!) I like whites too I just love reds. Now Virginia is pushing he way into the red business, but the weather here isn't conclusive to many of the grapes, (I am not exactly sure why but I am sure I will have a useful comment pop up with some helpful information. I am looking at you Great Legs Wine Goddess, here after GLWG and yes that is sucking up but you get that when you comment.) This means you have to have a really careful wine maker and the red wines tend to be really expensive.  What does this mean for me, well it means that  I am developing my palette for white wines, something that I have really enjoyed so far.

Gotta love an old time soda fountain 

After our wine tasting and wondering around the town, we also stopped in an 80 year old soda fountain and had a lovely afternoon snack.

Coming soon... In My Back Yard, meeting law school people, the computer saga, my furniture, restaurant week and more!