Coming...

I promised a post today, but one of my lab mates is leaving (relevant!) Thursday so we are having a dinner party tonight. Post postponed to tomorrow...

Everybody poops [edit]

People are offensive. Everybody poops.

Update

So I've run twice (weds. and fri.), and it's not too terrible. Soreness is all gone today and I'm ready to run again. I don't run that far, but while I'm going I feel like I'm getting something done and I guess that's all I'm looking for. My running music (Pandora "Pop Fitness") truly offends the ears, but keeps me distracted.

Accountability

Lately (maybe the last few weeks?) I've had the overwhelming feeling that my life has been spinning a little bit out of control (and in a general downward direction) in several different aspects but most tangibly (and easiest to take charge of) is my health and general self-care. A few weeks ago I had a persistent headache that nothing would cut, accompanied by some weird head lumps and general malaise. After the internet helped me diagnose myself with stage 4 brain cancer, I took a trip to the campus doctor and got an A+ on my mono test. Awesome. I've finally reached adolescence. 95% chance I got it at my birthday party from a dude on my flip cup team (DAMN YOU, NICK!).

In addition to that, I've been eating like a bona fide grad student and am currently in the "trough" sector of the wavelength spectrum that is my physical fitness. I feel gross and tired and vaguely unhappy. In an attempt to do something about anything, I'm going to start some gentle running, and to keep myself vaguely accountable, I will report my progress here. Most likely, this will last for all of 2 entries (as most exercise blogs by people like me do) and also be largely uninteresting to everyone (including myself) but at 5:30 on a Wednesday, I guess I could do worse. So here's day 1 of my slightly less intermittent exercise regimen. Running outside.*

*Running outside will likely soon be replaced by running inside, followed by inide elliptical-ing, followed by going back to being a lazy fuck.

That's my wacky, totally unoriginal accountability post for now. Maybe more to come.

HUGS.

Balloons and Pets

Holy cows! A rodeo! I tried to go to one while in NC but found out about it too late, so I settled for watching those crazy cowboys on TV. I read the birthday post just now for the first time... And ditto! Happy Birthday and Happy Anniversary to Better than Straight DOPE!! According to page views, we are pathetic and scheduled for face-to-face time. I think its my turn. When life hands over my life, we'll travel again together. For now, I'll have to update you more about Blue monster and aquatic pets. Its especially tough to get out and play when its BRICK outside, so I've been entertaining the little guy by playing "find it" and "tug" indoors. He's a strong pup who is constantly reminding me how human I am. As for the fish, it took some time to recover from the deaths of some fish, but I'll say it was due to the stress of being transferred from their normal environment of 5 years to a new tank. Also the capacity of the tank was miscalculated. Still have some old Gs hanging on though, a little crayfish, eel, and another tank that I plan on making an aquascape (non-animal?) for fear of becoming the animal lady. Can't put too many eggs in one basket. Honestly, I was anxiously waiting an invitation in the mail when you had asked for an address, but I guess I'll have to keep on waiting since I know now how much you hate weddings. Besides, we have to knock out things on the List before a wedding happens. Keep me posted about Heidi, grad life, your publication, everything else!! Please. I'm desperate to know. Its been too long. HUGSS :) Jane

Bio-home

Once again, we were ahead of the curve. http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2013/01/17/garden/20130117-DETAILS.html?gwh=65BF7036B66076F6FA0A6C99DFA9AA1A#1

coconut sticky rice with mango

Quite possibly one of the tastiest things I've ever made (mac mac cheese and cheese items not included), coconut sticky rice with mango is a delicious Thai treat that only takes a few ingredients. The sweet rice was the only challenge, as I had to brave a trip to the Chinese supermarket to get it, but it was super worth it. So. Fucking. Good. Pictures, next time I make it.

Ingredients:

1 cup Thai sweet or sticky rice
1 can coconut milk (unshaken)
3 tbsp white sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1 or 2 ripe mangos
fresh mint (if you're feeling fancy)

Tools required:

steamer basket
saucepan

1. Soak your sticky rice in water for about an hour. Drain and rinse your rice, add ~1 cup of water into a saucepan, and place the rice in a steamer insert inside the saucepan. Cover tightly and steam over low to medium heat for 20 minutes.

2. While the rice is steaming, make the first sauce. You will make two coconut sauces to go on the rice: One thin one to mix into the rice itself, and then a thicker sauce to spoon over top. Start by opening the can of coconut milk and spooning out the thick cream on top. Place the thicker coconut cream in a small bowl. You should have approximately 1/2 cup, give or take a bit. (All measurements here are approximate, which is completely fine for this recipe.)

3. Pour the thinner, lighter coconut milk left in the can into a small saucepan. (It will be a little over 1 cup.) Stir in 2 tablespoons sugar and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Warm over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Do not let the sauce boil.

4. By now the rice is probably done. The grains should be tender and shiny. Spoon the rice out into a bowl (it will be clumpy).

5. Slowly pour the warm coconut milk over the rice in the bowl, stirring frequently. You want the milk to coat the rice but not leave puddles. Keep stirring, and stop pouring in coconut milk when it looks like the rice is saturated. You may not use all of the milk.

6. Set the rice aside to finish absorbing the coconut milk; after 15 minutes or so it should have soaked up any milk that is still liquid.

7. While the rice is standing, make the coconut topping sauce. Rinse out the coconut milk saucepan, and pour in the coconut cream that you took off the top of the can. Stir in 1 tablespoon sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together a few teaspoons of water and the cornstarch.

8. Whisk this cornstarch slurry into the coconut cream and cook over low heat for about 3 minutes, or until the mixture thickens considerably. Set aside.

9. To cut up the mango, first cut off the bottom so it can stand upright.

10. Slice away the skin in thin strips, until the mango is completely peeled.

11. Cut off the flesh in slices, starting with the broad cheeks on each side, then the thinner strips that will come off either side.

12. To serve, place about 1/3 cup cooked sticky rice on each plate, and arrange mango slices around it. Drizzle with the coconut topping sauce, and sprinkle with a few toasted sesame seeds. Garnish with a mint sprig, and eat while still warm.

belated

hi janie!

this is a pathetically belated birthday/new year check-in! happy both of those things! i thought of you on your birthday but was in a wedding and otherwise occupied the entire fucking day. so sick of weddings. then i kept saying i would write you a birthday blog post, and then it got later and later and i felt too ashamed to even do that. you know how these things go. so i'm doing this, in what i hope is slightly better than a birthday text or facebook wall post.

how are you? will you please give me detailed information about your amazing aquarium/chic blue apartment? it looks so wonderful.

things with me are different but the same, but i'll leave that obnoxiously vague for the time being. school's moving slowly, as it always does at the beginning of the year for me, but sequencing reads should be in by the end of the month so hopefully things will pick up around then. two things on my docket for the spring: 1) go to the rodeo. i've never been and i think houston's rodeo is the biggest in the country (world?). not sure how i escaped it, having grown up here, but that gets rectified this year. 2) try to come to boston for sofia's famed passover dinner. ask blue if he has plans, i gotta meet that dude at some point.

anyway. update me when you get a chance. hugz az alwayz.

kimmie

p.s.

can't wait for the everyone poops post. anxiously waiting.