Dining room + dining table, yey!

We have a dining set in our dining/living room!! Yey!!!!!! I'm so excited.. It looks like the one above.. and maybe I'll post actual pics when they come out decently and not like this:

Anyway, so this is how it looks like in our apt... the reflections are these two lights we got form ikea... If I weren't so lazy I would have turned them off, and/or taken a picture now, with lights off... Oh well.

Yey!!!!! our apartment is almost complete!!!!!! I love our dining table, it's just perfect (there's a bench on the wall side, so when more people come, they can sit there... So we can seat 6 + people, yey!!!

Yey for Tuesday....

A student again

Hi!

SO I'm feeling like a student again... I have been one since after labor day, but my nasty cold left me with no energy to study or think. Now, I'm regaining the ability to think, yet I don't think it's up to par of my Yale classmates. Yes, my friends, I feel a bit stupid. Not completely, just a bit. I try to tell myself that there is a reason I'm here, that I'm probably not as stupid as I feel, or maybe I fooled them, and myself, well. Whatever it is, it's giving me the drive to study much harder, because I don't like feeling stupid.

Today I was in my pathology seminar class, and did make a comment on the paper we read (I am aspiring for High Honors, after all, aka: an A in the class), but I did NOT get the main fallacy with the paper. I was talking to Ashley before class and she was like, it really bugs me that they didn't do the experiment with this one knockout, when they did it for this other one. It turns out that maybe the problem I had with the paper would have been solved if that knockout was used, and I kind of saw that and thought that, but it didn't really really hit me... So I feel a bit foolish. I dunno, I need to think more critically-- which is tough.

I also feel very very stupid when sitting in on lab meetings. I follow things until one point, and then boom, I'm lost. And I have yet to go talk to my PI bc I feel very stupid, and do not wish to appear so... But I am determined to stop by tomorrow with my questions.

So, life at Yale is a challenge... exactly what I was looking for in grad school. Apparently I like to feel stupid, or something. Grad school is a much larger challenge than I ever thought it would be. A lot of it is becoming the person that I know I can be, with all the hurdles that I put on myself-- all mental hurdles, of course. It's very hard to see how I will accomplish all the things in store for me... but I guess I just have to take it one day at a time, and try to enjoy myself in doing so...

Hopefully all will go well... I am so afraid of failure, that I think that if I were less afraid of failing, I wouldn't be so scared... Oh well...

But so far so good. The people in my lab are very nice, and I enjoy myself there. I kind of feel silly that I go in every day, and spend most of the time reading journals, but I want to be available and inmerse myself in the lab, even if my project has yet to start. Also, there's tons of meetings to attend and stuff.

Anyway... I'm back at the apartment after a long day of class, lab meeting (it started at 1pm.. I left early at 2:45pm, and it was still going on... probably until 3:30pm or more), and then more class... And I will work on getting my desk cleared so I can actually do some work on it!

Finally, a new post...

Hi!

So hopefully I'll actually finish a post, not like last time.


So, we are almost almost finished with our apartment. Just like I am almost almost over my wonderful cold. And, I must say, the apartment is looking good.

Funny thing... the first room we finished (minus this one thing from Ikea that is out of stock and driving us crazy) is the kitchen, but I don't have any pics of it yet... It's all red and fabulous... pics to come soon.

Then we finished the bathroom... which is all green and beautiful!
Very many candles (yey) and a pretty green curtain... but, there's more!Notice the very pretty flowers and the soap dispenser... and the pretty towels... and the green carpet... ah, I love our bathroom...

Ok, so I'm off ( I know, I promised a long post)... at least I added pics this time.

Griselda

Zabaione

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	Hazelnut Zabaione Semi Freddo This has to be one of our favorite desserts, after blackberry pie of course. Toasted hazelnuts, frozen custard and this elixir of chocolate, espresso and Marsala are to die for. One bite and you are whisked away to Italy. You can make the simple syrup a few weeks ahead of time. You can make the zabaione a month ahead of time and freeze it and the chocolate sauce holds in the refrigerator for a day, and then you stir in the butter just before serving. So while this looks like a lot of work, you can do quite a bit ahead of time if you choose which is nice. This recipe also doubles nicely. Here are the ingredients for each component: Zabaione 1 cup heavy cream, chilled 1 Tbs. sugar 4 Tbs. water 3 Tbs. sugar 1 ¼ cup (4 ½ oz.) hazelnuts, toasted and skinned 2 Tbs. sugar 6 large egg yolks ¼ cup dry Marsala ¼ tsp. vanilla extract Chocolate Marsala Sauce 1 ½ Tbs. instant espresso coffee granules ½ cup boiling water 1/3 cup dry Marsala 4 oz. bittersweet chocolate 5 tsp. sugar 2 Tbs. unsalted butter Garnish 1/3 (1 oz.) hazelnuts, toasted, skinned and coarsely crushed Making the Zabaione: Combine the cream and the 1 tablespoon sugar in a medium bowl, and whip to soft peaks. Refrigerate until ready to use. Next you make what is called a ‘simple syrup’ or sugar water. Combine the water and 3 tables spoons sugar in a tiny saucepan, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Once the sugar has dissolved and the liquid is clear, simmer another 2 minutes. Set the sugar syrup aside and allow to cool. Then refrigerate until needed. This can be made ahead of time if you like. Combine the hazelnuts and the 2 tablespoons sugar in a food processor or blender, and grind to a paste. Set aside. Turn the cooled sugar syrup into a large metal bowl, and whisk in the egg yolks and Marsala. Set the bowl over a pan of boiling water, making sure the bowl does not touch the water. Wish 3 minutes, or until the custard is thick, leaving a clear trail at the bottom of the bowl when stirred with a spoon. It will be between 160-165° F. on an instant-read thermometer. Do not let the mixture boil, or the yolks will curdle. Immediately turn the custard into a mixing bowl, and beat with a hand-held or freestanding electric mixer at medium speed until cool, 8-10 minutes. Beat in the ground hazelnuts and the vanilla until well incorporated. Using a large spoon, fold in about a quarter of the whipped cream to lighten the mixture. Then add the remaining whipped cream, folding until it is thoroughly blended. Spoon the mixture into six to eight small ramekins that have been rinsed with cold water (but not dried). Set them on a small tray, over with plastic wrap and freeze. (The mousse can also be frozen in a 1 ½ quart shallow dish or deep soufflé dish, and then scooped into individual servings at the table, which is what we usually do). Making the Sauce: Combine the coffee granules with the boiling water and stir until dissolved. Turn into a small bowl, and add the Marsala, chocolate and sugar. Set over a pan of hot water, and stir until the chocolate has melted. If necessary, re-warm over hot water before serving. Stir in the butter just before serving. Serving: If you used individual ramekins, spread a pool of the warm chocolate sauce on each dessert plate. Dip the molds into a bowl of hot water, loosening the edges with a small knife. Turn each mousse out onto the sauce or next to it. Sprinkle with the crushed hazelnuts and serve. If you used one large dish like we do, you can serve the mousse partially defrosted and creamy. Transfer it from the freezer to the refrigerator about 4 hours before serving. At serving time, use two large spoons to scoop out ovals of the mousse and place them on dessert plates. Spoon a band of warm chocolate sauce across each oval, then sprinkle with crushed hazelnuts. Notes: Marsala is a blended, fortified wine of Sicilian origin, aged for 2 years or more in casks. Marsala is a dark amber color with a deep rich flavor, and varies from sweet to dry. In a pinch, you can substitute a high quality dry sherry for the dry Marsala in this recipe, but really – you should get some Marsala to cook with. This recipe was adapted from ‘The Splendid Table – Recipes from Emilia-Romagna’. Sub Rosa Recipes Sub Rosa Desserts

Sunshine with a cough

Hello blog world :)

So, we are indeed very much settled in our apartment, minus the bedroom and dining set. So, still a little caos in Zuc-Cat world, but not too bad. We got through all of the boxes (minus my clothes boxes) yesterday.