Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Weekday Banana Walnut Oatmeal
I saw a post on Summer Tomato for Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal labeled a "weekend breakfast", since cooking regular rolled oats takes a little while. Like Darya, I prefer real oatmeal to instant or quick, and I also am not really a bright sunshiney person in the morning. If it's more complicated than turning on the coffeemaker, I will probably not do it on a weekday morning.
This oatmeal recipe is that easy. And cheap! And tasty! I use Trader Joe's unsweetened soymilk, so the honey makes it tastier. It can certainly be remixed with any combo of toppings based on your whims and what's in the fridge.
Banana-Walnut Oatmeal
1/2 c. rolled oats
3/4 to 1 c. milk or soymilk
sliced banana
walnuts
1 tbsp. honey
The night before you want to eat this, put the oats and soymilk into a bowl and put it in the refrigerator.
In the morning, take it out and stir, then pop it in the microwave for 2 minutes. Remove, stir, and microwave another 1-2 minutes. Top with banana, walnuts, and honey. Yum!
This oatmeal recipe is that easy. And cheap! And tasty! I use Trader Joe's unsweetened soymilk, so the honey makes it tastier. It can certainly be remixed with any combo of toppings based on your whims and what's in the fridge.
Banana-Walnut Oatmeal
1/2 c. rolled oats
3/4 to 1 c. milk or soymilk
sliced banana
walnuts
1 tbsp. honey
The night before you want to eat this, put the oats and soymilk into a bowl and put it in the refrigerator.
In the morning, take it out and stir, then pop it in the microwave for 2 minutes. Remove, stir, and microwave another 1-2 minutes. Top with banana, walnuts, and honey. Yum!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Wayback Machine
While trying to update a broken link on Wikipedia, I came upon some adorably outdated articles I wrote for The Dartmouth my freshman year in college. The first is a meditation on how overpowered iMacs are as public BlitzMail machines. Check out those system specs! (These same iMacs would later spawn the great pink eye epidemic of 2001-2002.)
The second was an article about some of my favorite websites at the time. Oddly, some of those sites are still around, and are hilarious!
And finally, I don't want to forget my 1998 interview with Archimedies Plutonium. The article is nothing special, but you really should read about the man himself, or you may live out the rest of your life without understanding that the whole universe is actually one giant plutonium atom. He is also apparently a usenet celebrity, and has quite the Wikipedia user page. For anyone out there still wondering, he actually did scrub pots at Dartmouth, until he was replaced by an automatic dishwasher, attempted to sue the school, and subsequently left Hanover because the people there were too backward to handle his science.
The second was an article about some of my favorite websites at the time. Oddly, some of those sites are still around, and are hilarious!
- Poorly Drawn Lamp Page
- The T.W.I.N.K.I.E.S. Project
- The Infamous Exploding Whale (Ha! This is what things were like before YouTube, kids!)
And finally, I don't want to forget my 1998 interview with Archimedies Plutonium. The article is nothing special, but you really should read about the man himself, or you may live out the rest of your life without understanding that the whole universe is actually one giant plutonium atom. He is also apparently a usenet celebrity, and has quite the Wikipedia user page. For anyone out there still wondering, he actually did scrub pots at Dartmouth, until he was replaced by an automatic dishwasher, attempted to sue the school, and subsequently left Hanover because the people there were too backward to handle his science.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Must Listens on the Web
I started my summer internship at the Center for Healthcare Research and Transformation on Tuesday. One of the perks is I get to listen to music. One of the drawbacks is that music has to mostly come from the web. There is of course Pandora and Last.fm, but sometimes you want a whole album, or a specific artist, or a playlist that exactly matches the way researching the ROI on high quality preschool programs makes you feel. And for those things, my friends, I have compiled a list for you.
- Exclusive First Listen on NPR Music – I am listening to John Vanderslice’s new album on here right now, which is fantastic.
- Wilco (The Album) – this is a one off rather than a constant resource, but Wilco’s new album is streamed in its entirety.
- Songza.com – basically an aggregator of streaming content from YouTube and iMeem, among others, you can make playlists on here. My own stream has whatever playlist I’m into right now, and the blog has featured playlists each day.
- YouTube – sometimes it’s easier to just use the YouTube interface to save more than one playlist. Two of mine are songs I loved at 13 and one of Irish folk singer Lisa Hannigan.
- Twitter music Monday – this one takes a bit of work. On Mondays, people on Twitter post songs they like. Those songs may rock, or they may suck. It’s part of what makes it awesome.
- Hype Machine Radio – this is one of the cooler music aggregator ideas going on out there. Basically they aggregate music blogs, see what is trending, and make those songs available. The last three songs were T.I., Jordin Sparks, and Sunny Day Real Estate. Our collective consciousness has spotty but intriguing taste in music.
- Music for Busy People – by invite only. If you know me, you should ask me for an invite. Makes me feel cool in a totally lazy way.
- South By Southwest Music Player - songs from this years SXSW artists (it's a link in the right hand column)
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
tofu and self-nurturing
The past month has been 100% crazytown for me. Sarah came home to Massachusetts, so I took the week of Martin Luther King day to fly back there to visit for a week. Not content just to see my sister after a year and a half, I also managed to dart down to New Haven to see Grace, and from there we went to NYC to see Ted and meet up with Chris and Zach too. I returned to Ann Arbor for five days, only to leave again the following Saturday for the National Health Policy Conference in Washington DC.
That's a whole lot of awesome life experience packed into one month, especially if that month also happens to be the first month of a new semester. And while I value those experiences, all that activity left me feeling very drained and like my head was just spinning all the time.
Last semester I often stayed on campus until 7, 8, or 9 pm to study or work. I am definitely more productive when I just keep plugging away on campus, but a certain level of stress brings on rapidly diminishing returns in the form of me needing to sit around and do nothing for a while (an evening, a weekend, the whole of winter break) to recover. So I've settled on a gentler approach. When I'm done with classes/committments most days, I come home. I continue to work here, but I feel much more relaxed in my own home, changed into loungey clothes, in a comfy chair.
With all of this lounging, it's tempting to pop a Lean Cuisine into the microwave and keep reading. But as I mentioned in my last post, I've been cooking dinner. Real food. It's glorious. Tonight I made a Garam Masala Tofu Scramble from 101 Cookbooks, and it has reminded me the extent to which simple vegetarian food is my comfort food. I've been out of the cooking swing of things for so long, the concept of weeknight meals had begun to elude me. Now that I'm doing it again, I remember how much cooking relaxes me. Chopping vegetables is meditative, sauteeing is magical, and relaxing with the result is deeply satisfying. Mmmmmmm, tofu.
That's a whole lot of awesome life experience packed into one month, especially if that month also happens to be the first month of a new semester. And while I value those experiences, all that activity left me feeling very drained and like my head was just spinning all the time.
Last semester I often stayed on campus until 7, 8, or 9 pm to study or work. I am definitely more productive when I just keep plugging away on campus, but a certain level of stress brings on rapidly diminishing returns in the form of me needing to sit around and do nothing for a while (an evening, a weekend, the whole of winter break) to recover. So I've settled on a gentler approach. When I'm done with classes/committments most days, I come home. I continue to work here, but I feel much more relaxed in my own home, changed into loungey clothes, in a comfy chair.
With all of this lounging, it's tempting to pop a Lean Cuisine into the microwave and keep reading. But as I mentioned in my last post, I've been cooking dinner. Real food. It's glorious. Tonight I made a Garam Masala Tofu Scramble from 101 Cookbooks, and it has reminded me the extent to which simple vegetarian food is my comfort food. I've been out of the cooking swing of things for so long, the concept of weeknight meals had begun to elude me. Now that I'm doing it again, I remember how much cooking relaxes me. Chopping vegetables is meditative, sauteeing is magical, and relaxing with the result is deeply satisfying. Mmmmmmm, tofu.
Monday, February 09, 2009
warm chickpea and broccoli salad
I've been craving vegetables for several days now. Not just like "I could use a salad". Elaborate fantasies about roasted beets and fennel salads.
I've really enjoyed reading the New York Times series recipes for health. This past week was broccoli, and although broccoli isn't something I really need a recipe for, new ideas are always good. I made the warm chickpea and broccoli salad. It came out nicely, although I would caution you that shaking the covered bowl to distribute the dressing might make the broccoli crumble a bit. I'd probably add a little more broccoli next time, although I have no idea if I used the amount called for in the recipe.
I've decided to make time in my day for cooking dinner. It helps me to feel less rushed, and more in touch with what I need to be balanced and healthy and calm. After dinner tonight (and last night) I took the time to get coffee ready to go for the morning and throw smoothie ingredients together too.
Sleeeeeepy! Night!
I've really enjoyed reading the New York Times series recipes for health. This past week was broccoli, and although broccoli isn't something I really need a recipe for, new ideas are always good. I made the warm chickpea and broccoli salad. It came out nicely, although I would caution you that shaking the covered bowl to distribute the dressing might make the broccoli crumble a bit. I'd probably add a little more broccoli next time, although I have no idea if I used the amount called for in the recipe.
I've decided to make time in my day for cooking dinner. It helps me to feel less rushed, and more in touch with what I need to be balanced and healthy and calm. After dinner tonight (and last night) I took the time to get coffee ready to go for the morning and throw smoothie ingredients together too.
Sleeeeeepy! Night!
Thursday, January 08, 2009
24 minutes of blogging
I started my second semester yesterday, and I'm sitting here in my health services survey class with 24 minutes of time left on my battery. So here's 24 minutes of my thoughts!
My first semester ended on a really positive note. My grades were good, but most importantly, I really saw my ability to focus and get shit done. Honestly, when I started, that was my biggest worry. As a recalcitrant procrastinator when I was an undergraduate and even when I was taking grad classes in Arizona, I became pretty convinced getting anything done was always going to be a struggle. But in the middle of the semester, something changed. I realized I wanted to be here, and that this work was important to me. I also realized that the sky wasn't going to fall if my work wasn't perfect. Yup, that's right, I'm a perfectionist who procrastinates, imagine that.
This semester is looking okay so far. I'm excited for my regression class and for econ, and less so for the health services survey class. My politics seminar has a lot of potential, and I'm oddly excited for a presentation-based class. I'm going to make the world's most awesome PowerPoints. I'm also trying to get into a class on decision-making and risk simulation stuff, in my ongoing attempt to be 70% as cool as Nate Silver. I want to learn Monte Carlo simulation!
My first semester ended on a really positive note. My grades were good, but most importantly, I really saw my ability to focus and get shit done. Honestly, when I started, that was my biggest worry. As a recalcitrant procrastinator when I was an undergraduate and even when I was taking grad classes in Arizona, I became pretty convinced getting anything done was always going to be a struggle. But in the middle of the semester, something changed. I realized I wanted to be here, and that this work was important to me. I also realized that the sky wasn't going to fall if my work wasn't perfect. Yup, that's right, I'm a perfectionist who procrastinates, imagine that.
This semester is looking okay so far. I'm excited for my regression class and for econ, and less so for the health services survey class. My politics seminar has a lot of potential, and I'm oddly excited for a presentation-based class. I'm going to make the world's most awesome PowerPoints. I'm also trying to get into a class on decision-making and risk simulation stuff, in my ongoing attempt to be 70% as cool as Nate Silver. I want to learn Monte Carlo simulation!
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