ciao samin

ok, so i've been gone for a while.

some stuff i've been thinking about, doing, eating:

the tsunami. donate, donate, donate. i'm thinking of holding a bake sale on saturday to raise money. does anyone want to help out? leave a comment or write me if you're in berk or sf and want to bake or sell with me. i haven't decided where i want to do it yet.

knitting, knitting, knitting. i've decided to knit a blanket. i want to use up all of the yarn i got in italy before i buy any new fancy yarn from here or here or here, so i'm going to make a bunch of 9x9 inch squares and stitch them together to create a knit-quilt type thing.

listening to music. nick drake, rilo kiley, keane, some brazilian stuff, the postal service, the shins, and more.

burning myself. i spilled a pot of boiling water on myself after i crashed into someone at work and spilled all over her first. i ripped off my coat and socks and ran upstairs as soon as it happened. it turned out not to be too bad--i just have a little red spot on my right foot.

working. new year's eve was wonderful at work. lots of hijinx, great music, and some really delicious food. i spent hours fine dicing black truffles and nearly went blind. but the food was great. my favorite things: white risotto with black truffles, baked alaska, and tarte tatin with burnt caramel ice cream.

hanging out with friends.

drinking a lot of tea. my new favorite is the blood orange i just got from far leaves.

making delicious presents: i made some sea salt caramels and mexican hot chocolate mix for some friends for christmas, and i was pretty happy with how both turned out. here are my recipes.

---sea salt caramels---
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup light corn syrup
3 cups sugar
1 tablespoon sea salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons vanilla


boil cream, corn syrup, sugar and salt to 248 degrees farenheit. remove from heat and add butter and vanilla. pour into a greased pan and let the caramels set for about three hours before cutting and wrapping in wax paper.


---mexican hot chocolate mix (almost as good as mariebelle's!)---

3 parts dark cocoa (i used valrhona)
1 part sugar
freshly grated nutmeg
ground cinnamon
clove
hot pepper

movies i'd really like to see include finding neverland, the life aquatic, and sideways.

i'll be better about posting from now on, i promise. and again, let me know about the bake sale, guys.