Things We Ate in April

Special Photo Post

(Since all my readers seem to be so interested in the pictures rather than the actual content)

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Why do we only take pictures of food before it is served?

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This sounds like a disgusting question, but honestly, why don't we? I personally appreciate the look of corroded, destroyed, messy things just as much as well put together and fancy. that was a bad contrast of the way things look, but I recently took some pictures of cake, and I really enjoy them. Forget what it actually is and try to appreciate the look of things.

Splendor and Disgust.

Until Then.

It's nice to dream

I've had an eventful past couple days, although I still haven't found any work. I hope that changes soon though. Anyway, I've just spent the last few hours resizing pictures on Photoshop because photobucket makes them too small -.- I really need to find a better way to do this. But back to the jobless thing, I've pretty much decided that blogging would be my job until I have one. Maybe I'll go back to working at the office...maybe...

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I know sometimes I don't post for a while, and I know about 3/4ths of you only come here to look at pictures like a childrens book, but I honestly enjoy doing this, and while I don't make any money because of it, who knows; maybe this might take me down the path of actual food critic. Probably not, but it's nice to dream sometimes /:

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***

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So on yesterday I went to IKEA, intending to buy myself a new lamp, then I thought about getting a new dresser, and THEN I though about how the hell would I get them home...so I just bought three pillows and some pillowcases instead. Completely not what I went in there for, but it was surprisingly fun (mostly because I was laughing about Ashley almost passing out from the heat in there). I ended up eating at the little restuarant/cafeteria type thing there, and the food was actually pretty good.

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Just whatever you do, never order the princess cake.

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EVER.

Let me just start off by saying that this picture doesn't do the salmon justice at all. Here, it looks like something inside of a wet catfood can, but in real life it looked okay. While I still do have an iPhone to take pictures with, I seriously need a real camera. There is no flash on the iPhone, so dark pictures come out looking grainy like this, and atleast a point and shoot camera would really help.

I'm guessing the salmon was poached before it was plated with the dill sauce; the menu didn't really say how the fish was cooked. I was a little put off when I saw that it was (assumingly) poached, because I usually dislike poached fish (or even chicken), but this was actually okay. I have absolutely no idea what the filling was (the visibly green portion of the filet), but it tasted the same as the rest of the fish, so they really didn't have to put that inside anyway.

What I thought were crab cakes turned out to be potato cakes, but I wasn't upset about this at all, I just figured it would've went with the seafood theme. (I honeslty have no idea what was going through my mind. I should know better; IKEA does not sell crab -.- I'm an embarrasment). The also poached vegetables were nice too. I enjoyed the yellow carrots.

This might look like dessert, but it wasn't. It was Ashley's "Dollar Meatballs" that she hated so much, she spit one out on the table. Her excuse was "I thought they would be great, because they were only a dollar. How could I resist?", to which I replied "Seriously? Since when, dealing with food, is something that is advertised as 'ONLY ONE DOLLAR!!' going to be delicious?"

To my surprise, I thought they were great. They tasted sort of sweet, but not disgustingly so, almost like the sweetness of foods caramelized on a grill (if that's possible). They were served with a cream sauce, and lingonberries which I dragged them through before eating.

After such a filling meal, what better way to end it all then with an even more filling dessert. If only I hadn't gone down the terrible route of the princess cake...

This attrocity was described to me as looking like a dirty tennis ball, and I should've listened, but curiousity got the best of me and I just had to try it. First of all, the outside is the most tasteless marzipan ever. That "chocolate drizzle" on top wasn't chocolate at all; it was just more marzipan! The filling was whipped cream, which I hate on cake which, by the way, was the dryest white cake ever. In the middle they managed to smear a little bit of raspberry jam, but it was like giving a dehydrated person in the desert your last drop of water: Too little, too late.

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To spite them, I refused to clear my own tray like the sign says to do.

For all the Swedish prinesses out there who are forced to enjoy this, I shed a single tear.

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Today I made Cream Puffs!

(I had a whole photo montage thing of how I made them, but the resizing didn't work properly, and it's late and I don't feel like doing it again. So there.)

I didn't get the fondant right until the fourth time I tried to make it. I searched everywhere on the internet on a video showing me how to make fondant icing, not rolling fondant that you put on cakes, but I had absolutely no luck at all. I just needed to see a video to see what I was doing wrong. So I decided to blow the dust off of my BP232 book and read the fondant section; mind you this was all before I tried to make it the last three times.

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So apparantly I was supposed to heat the mixture to 225F, then add the cream of tartar, then continue heating until 240F, then take it off and pour it onto the slab, then work with it until it turned white. There were two problems with this; I don't have a scale, and EVERYTHING in that book is by weight, and I also couldn't find the conversion amount for cream of tartar.

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I was just a real badass today because I was flying blind with the temperatures too; all my thermometers stop at 220F. I was relieved that it only took me three tries to get it right.

Yes they're lumpy, and yes they look messy, but I like them. The top is apricot marmalade and coffee fondant (something else I stumbled upon in my 232 notebook), and inside is pastry cream. I would love to sit here for another 30 minutes and talk about them, but honestly it's late, and they're just cream puffs.

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:) Until then... which should probably be soon because I just got like 4lbs of butter from the store. (Maybe danishes!)

Brambleberries

I just thought I'd say it.

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I actually did have a brambleberry juice Tazo thingy today for lunch, but that's beside the point; it's a silly and ridiculous word, and I really like saying it. Even more than "spinoccoli", which was my favorite word for a while.

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Anyway, today I carried a little pad around with me in my pocket, and whenever I had a (remotely) interesting thought, I wrote it down. You guys might enjoy a few:

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1. Someone should make a dishwasher with a garbage disposal attached.

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2. I really, really hate it when people pull, or press on, or lean on my chair while I'm sitting in it. If you would like to roll all around to floor with it, wait until I'm not using it to do so.

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3. STOP leaving crap in my bed! First it was a shoe horn, now it's ramen noodle crumbs. This is becoming a problem.

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4. My dog is really dirty, but she writhes about like a seizure victim when I try to bathe her, so I've stopped caring. She lives outside anyway /:

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5. Actually, scratch that first thought. People would be going overboard with it; trying to throw whole slices of pizza in there and what not.

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Now that that's out of the way, I have great news!

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I got my new iPhone!

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I'm so happy! It's not because I'm stuck up or spoiled or something that the only phone I can have is an iPhone (for those of you who missed that rant), it's just that the camera on it is really nice, plus it had a macro function that works with touch, so I can touch where I want to focus to be. A real professional camera and macro lens would cost me $1000+ so it's really great that I have this. It makes my pictures so much better.

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***

Today for lunch I ate at Starbucks... so it wasn't really lunch, sorta just a snack :P

The only actual piece of food food I had for lunch was a stuffed Feta and Spinach pretzel. A few days ago, I was having a conversation with someone about eating spinach, and how it gets stuck in your teeth. My side of the argument was that I didn't think it was a big deal, and that some people are too worried for no reason.

However today, after I had already eaten the pretzel, I went back up to the register to buy something for dessert, and I suddenly became so worried. It's funny now that I think about it, but I was so paranoid for the whole three minutes I was in line; as if everyone would suddenly look at my mouth for no reason at all.

Anyway, the pretzel was okay, but I didn't really see too much Feta inside, but perhaps that's cost control measures or something. I usually get the pizza pretzel, but this was a nice change. Maybe in another five months I'll try the egg salad.

Nope. I hate egg salad.

Isn't this just the greatest picture ever?

-.- it's so plain. But I had to do the cheesecake somehow, so I figured this would be the best angle to shoot it. Honestly, it was; this is as pretty as this cheesecake is getting. And you would think for $5.50 a slice AND the little "Cheesecake Factory Brand" logo, they'd be a bit more decorative, but no.

This isn't the worst cheesecake I've ever had, but I was kinda disappointed that I paid so much for what I got. The top had a thick skin on it, so I know it had been in the display for a while. The first couple bites were good, but a little later it started to remind me of what I do with Cinnabon's. First it's great, I'm enjoying myself so much, then I eat too much and make myself sick. I almost vomited when I took just a giant gulp of the center, after I had already eaten all of the graham cracker off of the bottom.

No I did not eat these with the lunch, but I did buy them right after.

A while ago I did a "recipetorial" (what was I thinking with that name? Ahhh novice food blogger ;D) on lemon poppy seed cookies, and to my surprise, they actually sell this kind of cookie! I was surprised to find that it's supposedly vegan (and anyone who knows me knows how I feel about vegans), mostly because it was actually really good. It tasted nothing like Martha Stewart's recipe, but maybe that's a good thing. Perhaps the Paula Deen's of the world really are trying to kill us with all their dairy, meat, and cheese...

OHN.

Paula Deen will save your life with her cooking! If you get shot, she will pack your wound with butter.

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Dry your eyes and testify. Oh Hell Yes #1: Butter saves lives!

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(Ignore the pumpkin spice cookie on the left; it was nasty. It tasted like Bath & Body Works vomited up a cookie. I would know, you can see I ate half it before I decided it was nasty.)

So I'm coming out of the bathroom, and what does the sign say? "Leave all unpaid merchandise outside" I guess people took it too seriously because literally right outside the bathroom door was a big stand of drinks just sitting there. Not only was this gross because it was so close to "le potte" (that's not real or anything), but it was odd because it was around the corner where no one (staff) could see.

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Maybe they had cameras, but I certainly didn't see any. But I just thought, if I was homeless this would've been the jackpot. Last year I had a really great idea about writing this book for homeless people and the places they could go to get free samples or take sink bathes etc, but then someone told me that a majority of homeless people can't read.

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Oh yeah. Most homeless people are homeless for a reason.

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***

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Until then. Which honestly shouldn't be too long because...

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MY COLLEGE GRADUATION CEREMONY IS SATURDAY!

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I will officially be the youngest person to graduate from culinary school!

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Excited :)

Dominoodle

"I'll be back on Thursday"

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Today is Saturday. No, even better:

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Caturday.

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Lack of ability to tell what day it is aside, I've been doing a whole lot of nothing today. Yesterday I went to DC, and there were plenty of "that tastes good" and "that's disgusting" moments that would have fit perfectly into a "day trip" post. But it wouldn't have gone well anyway...

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BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE A DAMN CAMERA!

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This is how I see it; text is very important when blogging. It is blogging. A blog without text is one without content. But in my opinion, one without pictures is the same thing. With no pictures, it's just story telling.

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I could sit here and describe to all of you the most amazing meal you could possibly imagine, but without any pictures to back it up, for all you know, I could've eaten dirty raisins off the floor for dinner. This is specifically why I decided not to do a post for yesterday, there were no photos.

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Yeah right Dominic. Like you take trips. Next you'll be telling us you've got a girlfriend.

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And then he wept.

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***

These three pictures have absolutley nothing to do with food. Unless you're a rabbit or some other animal who just eats plants like that.

Anyway, I was seriously about to prove a point with these pictures, but I seriously forgot what I was supposed to be doing with them. I think it's about me needing a camera. Oh! I remember now! (Why I chose to just keep typing instead of back spacing when I remembered is beyond me)

I've been looking at a lot of other food blogs recently, not for ideas, just for comparison, and I noticed something; they all only post about recipes. There is no story, no hilarious anecdotes about losing jobs, no stories about dropping my only camera in the toilet. But that's why you guys read me, right?

...right?

But seriously, they title the post after the recipe, just the ingredients, and then just take pictures of the steps. That's why I think this isn't just a food blog. My mind knows no black and white, so I blur all the lines all the time, and I think thats a great thing. Maybe the next post will actually have something to do with food. And maybe it will have more than 400 words.

Until then.

(Whenever that is lol)

Above This; I'm Spelling "DIS" With My Cow Limbs.

*Exhales* I'm never satisfied...

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So I've been experimenting with some new photo uploading methods. EVEN BIGGER PHOTOS! And not half cut off photos like this one, but actual, large, professional looking photos. The problem now is that I don't actual have a camera anymore. I really want a new camera but when I buy my new iPhone, it will have to suffice until I find a new job. I'm starting to feel lifeless again...

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Anyway, I'm going somewhere this weekend, and a big dilemma is me not having a camera. I plan to have a wonderful trip with oodles of pictures, but that can't happen until I get a camera. The crappy camera on this Razr phone I'm using now won't cut it, and I don't get my check from my old job until Tuesday of next week... Perhaps Franny has an extra camera somewhere or something...

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So today, since I cannot find where on my computer the iPhone backup pictures are, I'm going to show you guys the pictures from my quaint little birthday trip to New York last year. Yeah, they're a bit dated, and I was just getting the hang of macro pictures, but it's nice. It's something.

I have to say, I'm really enjoying the new photo size. You can see everything clearly; nothing feels like it's missing; it's just great. (Also, yesterday I had so much to say, I feel like I should give my self a bit on the back for my choice of words. Nothing spectacular, just saying. Today however, not so much. I feel kinda at a loss for words, even though earlier I had all these thoughts about what today's post was going to be about. Ehh. Never mind.)

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So this was the Stracciatella gelato that I got from GROM. I think I mentioned it before. I don't know. Just in case I didn't, it was basically milk flavored with pieces of dark chocolate. I have a lot of preferences when it comes to ice cream, but this might be my favorite. Maybe.

Ignore him. Yeah. Him.

Ashley got the strawberry gelato. I can't speak for her about how it tasted, but to her recollection, it was good. She says mine was gross though. She enjoys simple things. Speaking of Ashley, I am upset. I made her a blog and everything and when was the last time she posted? January. This face a thousand times:

-.-

This picture is shaky and I don't like it, but it's the only one of the pizza that I had while I was there. I can't even remember what kind of pizza it was, but that day I didn't care. I was having a lot of problems and arguments at home and at BIC, but that day I just completely forgot about all of it and enjoyed my day. Parts of which I forgot to photograph, but I think that sometimes it's good not to take pictures. One day I see myself being in a moment so great, maybe on a mountain somewhere, that I wont want to take a picture only because the presence of a camera would ruin the moment. If anyone gets where I'm coming from with that one.

Okay, so let me explain this one. All day I was looking for a Pinkberry because I heard how good it was supposed to be. I looked everywhere but couldn't find one. So I went to a place that at least seemed enough like Pinkberry. It was good; they had various frozen yogurt flavor machines, and then they had a really big, interesting topping station.

That day I really just walked and got cabs all around new york and stuffed myself with various little treats (I really hate that word but there's really no other one that fits there). I never actually had a sit down meal like I planned to, but I had a lot more fun this way.

Speaking of trips (besides this weekend) I was planning to be taking more later this year. (When I was working) I planned to save money, and on the off chance I'd have two consecutive days off, I could go somewhere fun. Since I don't have any kids to feed or bills to pay, I figured I could really have a lot of fun, but now that I don't have a job, half my check next week goes to a new phone, and the other half to contacts. Damn. I'm broke again.

I'll be back on Thursday. Until then.

We did it. Until we didn't.

To all you people who only read my blog for the pictures, you can leave now.

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This post is not for you.

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So I've returned. Finally. I was on hiatus for a little over a month, but I'm back now, with a few interesting stories to tell.

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First, let me explain why I was on hiatus in the first place. My last post was the beginning of March, and I was still searching for a job since January. I mentioned that I managed to get myself a job interview at a place downtown, but that didn't work out. A regular interview turned into a job interview, and then that turned into a estage (working interview), which I thought I did great on. Even the staff thought that I was very nice, and did a great job for my first day. Of course, this being my life and all (and unfortunately not some fairy tale), they never called me back. Not even to tell me I didn't get the job, even after the sous chef said he'd call me that Tuesday. I was told not to put all my eggs in one basket, but I really thought I had a shot at that one.

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So I ended up trying and actually getting a job at a bar, which was actually quite nice. I had the entire kitchen to myself, it wasn't too busy, and it wasn't too far out of my comfort zone. But that's just the thing; I don't like being comfortable. When I'm comfortable I'm not growing, I'm not learning, and I'm being taken off my track. So I went out to search for more work, even though I already had a good job with nice pay.

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So I stumble upon this other restaurant, the name of which I won't say, but to those of whom I've talked to know what it is, and I send them a completely honest cover letter. They call me back immediately, and ask me to come in for an interview. So I come in, and as it turns out, they meant working interview. So I ended up cooking for two hours in a dress shirt and new shoes, by which the end of I was told I had gotten the job. So I called my current job at the time, and informed them that, unfortunately, I would not be returning to work. So I start working at "Restaurant B"

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So on my first day at Restaurant B, I was introduced to the staff, and I was given a copy of the menu to learn. (This is probably a problem that will never get solved, because I'm sure everyone does this, but it is one of my biggest irritations that someone expects me to learn how to make everything they serve in the kitchen in two days with a customer menu. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT THE MUSSELS DISH IS ONLY MADE WITH SPECIFICALLY ROASTED GARLIC IF IT DOESN'T SAY SO ON THE MENU?!?) Anyway, the first couple days were fine. Tiring, but fine. But you know, that's kinda what I was looking for; a challenge. Something to make me actually appreciate my day off. I thought this was what I had found. The end of the application road; at least for a little while. This was not the case.

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Earlier today, my day off, I received a phone call from the chef telling me that someone had come in this morning, thinking that the position was still available. Before they could turn him away, they saw that he had a ton more experience, and did not need to be trained in anyway, and was willing to accept the same pay that I was getting, "starting wage". Long story short, whoever he is, he works there now, I am back on my job search once again. I think I might have gotten a bit off topic just now, "First, let me explain why I was on hiatus in the first place." ha ha, but I needed to explain all that.

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The reason was: nothing was happening. My life was at an absolute stand still.

A lot has happened since the last time I posted, and I have pictures of everything, but there's kind of a situation with that too. The other day, I dropped my phone in the toilet at work, so all my pictures went with it. I plan to buy a new one with my (only) check, but I don't get that until next tuesday, so it'll be a little while. But, the good news is that when I get it, I can restore it with iTunes and all the pictures will all be back on it.

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(Short Post) Until then readers.

More Tomorrow.

Sugar. Sushi. Soup.

Night Post

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Ahh. There's nothing like blogging at night to make you...realize you have no life. Especially when you're doing it split screen with a re-run of Castle playing on Hulu. Anyway, I must say, this week has been pretty uneventful, but that's my life now right? I did actually manage to get a job interview at a place downtown; I'm just waiting on the chef to call me back to schedule it.

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I've also noticed that I've been really "photo dependant" recently. Or at least it seems like it to me. Maybe this is just my crazy brain imagining what someone on the outside looking in would say.

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Either way, I have an explanation. I don't really intend for these "photo only" posts to be all fluff, where I'm too lazy to actually type a blog post. I just figured it'd be best if the photos spoke for themselves. That's sort of how I feel sometimes, like I don't know whether or not to type a lot or a little for each post. I've had people tell me blunt that they only go here for the pictures (I have no idea why someone would come here for pathetic food photography, but ehh), and I've had people say they actually read the text. So, I guess I'm trying to please everyone by doing some photo only posts, and some posts with a strong, text basis like this one.

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Sugar.

If you all could see the face I'm making right now for one reason... well I guess two. The first is because nothing in this post is in chronological order, but the second reason is because I want to eat this cinnabon again. And again. And again.

I don't know what it is, but when I walk past a Cinnabon, a 600lb person comes out from within me and takes over my body. Midway through eating it, I'm feeling great, but when I'm done I feel kinda bad, almost ill. Then of course, a few days later, I want to eat it again.

I'm being constantly distracted by this Castle episode. Anyway, I baked a pie two days ago, but I wanted to wait until I had some other stuff to go along with it. I'd like to think that the decorative dough flowers distract from the fact that the lines on the lattice top are incredibly uneven, but I know that was this first thing you saw when you looked at it.

It's the same recipe as before, but when I was talking to Lauren about the last pie, she said she didn't like streusel topping, so I figured I'd try to bake it with just a regular top, just to see how it turned out, because I always always always put streusel on apple pie.

It came out okay, but I think I could've added a bit more cornstarch to the cooked filling because when I cut the first slice, the juice from the filling just went everywhere. I also don't think it's a good idea to leave pie dough in the refrigerator for two days after it was made.

Sushi.

A few nights ago, I went out for sushi at this place downtown called Minato. The inside was really interestingly decorated with this giant flowy lamp thing on the ceiling, and a huge tv behind the sushi bar to distract me from the 45 minute wait for the food. I have to say, this place and Ra have to be my two favorite sushi places in Baltimore.

Some of the rolls I ordered were covered in mango, which was a really nice contrast to the saltiness of all of it. The philly roll had smoked salmon instead of just raw, so I thought that was a neat little twist on a common thing. The roll in the middle was avocado and eel, but when I bit into the first piece, I felt a bone. None of the other ones had any in them, so it was okay. The roll at the end, which you can't see in the picture, was a crispy crab roll.

Soup.

Last picture; today for lunch I had, you guessed it, ABP! I can't believe they still have those Christmas cups there. That was like what? 3 months ago now?

I got the green chili soup, which wasn't actually green, but I went to culinary school and I should know that. (I don't know why, but before I opened the lid to the soup heater thing to pour it into the cup, I was seriously hoping it was going to be green. There wouldn't have been any explanation for it, and once I saw it I probably wouldn't have bought it, but sometimes it's nice to dream.) I also got two bread sticks, peach tea, and a chocolate chip cookie. Maybe it's their oven, or maybe it's a careless person, but either way, I give up on pastries from this place.

This is about the fourth or fifth time I've picked up something only to realize it was charred when I go to eat it. No I didn't smash it up and leave the crumbs all over the table like last time, but I did fill the soup up WAY past the fill line. That was a bad quip.

You know there really won't be, but I'm gonna say it anyway; More Tomorrow!

35 GIANT SQUARES OF FOOD!

Blahhhh. Look how big these pictures are. Constantly trying new things here on +DisCow+, I thought I'd make my utter lack of posting up to you guys by doing a post entirely of huge photography. Especially since the last "Photo Only" post was sub-par. Anyway, enough chatter, let the giant squares of this weekend take over your computer (:

I want to live in a moment of ceaseless decadence, experiencing just for once the drowsy magnificence of infinite splendor

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More Tomorrow :)