Burn Baby Burn.

So this morning has been kind of rough. I could also be getting a little dramatic. Oh well.

I had rehearsal this morning at 9 o'clock for a medical show I'm doing with other SLU students called "Sutured Words." (It's a collaboration of medical poems from a book called Sutured Words and it is being preformed on November 30th in case you were interested, just ask me for information later). Of course I wakeup at 8:45, all fradazzled and freaking out at the fact that I was going to be late and make a bad impression of myself in front of Nancy. I really respect my director and teacher not only as an artist, but as a person, so being there on time was crucial to me. Eventually I got there, rehearsed for an hour, and then decided to come back to the apartment for breakfast. With Julia in a facemask that refrained her from talking too much and Gabbers half asleep and walking through the motions, I decided that I would make blueberry muffins, from a box of course! And by buying that box, I happened to donate to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure (Breast Cancer Awareness Represent!) - I wanted to make sure I clarified the name correctly because I think I might have not given the correct name for the foundation in a previous post.

How I made my "Wild Blueberry Muffins" :
3/4 cup of milk (I use fat free skim)
1/4 cup of vegetable oil (You can also use 1/4 applesauce instead of the oil to be even healthier!)
2 eggs
Betty Crocker Wild Blueberry Premium Muffin Mix and Quick Bread Mix With a Can of Real Blueberries!
** Highly reccommend! **

Follow directions on the back and you'll have wild and crazy blueberry muffins! However, learn from my mistakes please. First of all, it says 16-20 minutes for how long the muffins should be in the oven, but I would make it 16 or even 15 because sadly, I ended burning my muffins a tinge because I had the timer set for 20 min. and had to take them out when I still had five minutes left, I got a little distracted. My roommates are at rehearsal for 10-12s for Cabaret, so I thought it would just be really brilliant of me if I had my own private dance party to Teenage Dream by Katy Perry, whom I have loved forever. No shame. If you can't beat them, join them right? So thank you Katy Perry for distracting me from my muffin making.

I did have a couple though and they tasted delicious. Who cares if they have a tinge more brown? As long as they taste good what's the difference?

I actually probably shouldn't live by that motto if I want to be good at baking, should I? 

A Couple of Tips: Once again, check your muffins when they are in the oven. Also, one of Betty's Tips is to use an ice cream scoop to put the muffins batter in the pan....I used DJ Julia's cheetah scooper (we have an obsession with cheetah in this apartment, including a cheetah snuggie that I happen to own hahaha) and it worked really well! Thank Betty Crocker!

Oh and lastly...remember to add the blueberries to the orginal batter before separating them into little muffins. Because I forgot to that and had to do it individually. Bah. Sometimes baking can be so frustrating!

Apparently she is the Blueberry Muffin Girl?

Birthday Baking turned Epiphany.

It has happened...it has really happened. Yesterday, November 4th, 2010, I turned 20 years old and became a young adult. I know they say that this epiphany happens at age 18, but that really didn't work out in my case. Usually I make a big deal out of my birthday, (last year my close friends from college and I went to a sketchy club, but that is another story for another time hah!) but yesterday all I really wanted was to spend my birthday with the people I cared about, and that is exactly what I did. Happy 20th Birthday to me!

My roommates and friends, Gabby (Gabbers is my nickname for her) Julia (she is referring to herself as DJ Julia these days since she usually plays the music in our apartment and convinces us to join in during dance parties)surprised me at midnight by bringing out a piece of raspberry vanilla cake, (I'm not a chocolate person actually! Don't judge me! Hah!) with 20 candles lit and ready. The funny part about it was that Gabby was going to the refrigerator and getting all this done, while Julia was distracting me in conversation, and I didn't catch on to any of it! Obviously I was not meant to be a detective. Oh well.

The rest of the day went wonderful, and when my friends left for rehearsal, I decided that I was going to bake. Gabbers bought me a new apron with an ovenmitt because she knew I was doing this, so I decided to put it to good use by mixing up some stuff! I had chocolate chip cookie mix and peanut butter mix, and even though I don't like chocolate, the cookies for some reason always have delicious dough and a fabulous way of hiding the chocolate. So for you non-chocolate people out there, give it a try!

I have made cookies from scratch before, but when you're a college student, getting all the ingredients takes up a lot of time. So when baking, try this simple task:

Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or margarine (softened, not melted)
1 egg
1 bag of cookie mix chocolate chip from the store (I got mine from Target, but other stores work too!)
Follow the directions on the back of the bag, and in 8-11 minutes, you have cookies!

A couple of tips: Don't microwave the butter or margarine for too long. It gets a little melty, which does not bring out the rich taste in the cookies. You would think it wouldn't matter, but it actually does. If you can remember to leave out the stick of butter/margarine to soften it, that'll work best. Secondly, parchment paper is a lot better then aluminum, so if you have that in stock use it. Aluminum should only be used as a backup in my opinion. The cookies stick to it too much.

I was on a roll, so I actually mixed up the other bag of cookie mix too:

Peanut Butter Cookies
1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
1Tbsp. Water
1 Egg
1 bag of peanut butter cookie mix from the store
Follow directions and in about 10 minutes, you'll have cookies!

A couple of tips: Although it says that the cookies will be ready in 9 minutes, for this particular mix, in my experience was not true. Leaving them in the oven a couple minutes more would have been better. A light brown look to them adds a nice taste, but they obviously should not look burned.

After I was done, I went over to visit the boys next door (They're wonderful and we love having them as our neighbors!) and offered them cookies....in my apron hahahaha. Attractive right? Thanks Gabbers for helping me add to my wardrobe! I think they thought I was crazy, since I told them I was becoming the housewife of E203, but they got a good laugh about it! Tony, one of the boys that lives in the apartment, came over for a bit and we laughed over cookies and chatted about life before he went to the library to study with his friend Sean (Sean is an RA in my old dorm, but he pretty much lives next door too. He and Tony are pretty much dating hahahaha...only kidding, but they are pretty close. I respect the "bro" love hahaha.). After Tony visited, other people stopped by to wish me happy birthday and have a cookie, and I even brought some to my friends Ryan and Elenor who were glued to their seats doing homework. That's when I realized something. As much as I love baking for the craft, what I love most about it is how it brings people together. Cheezy as it may sound, people really do bond over baked goods. Maybe that is why we have birthday cakes at parties, or why we sit around the table and eat together for dinner. Maybe that is why food is a huge part of community, because gathering together is so rare, but when enjoying a meal, all are brought closer and appreciate each others' company that they might not be able to have usually.

                                              My friends that I spent my birthday with :)

                          I added this picture to show Emily, my other friend who made my birthday fabulous!

The Man Who I owe my Inspiration From - This will be the only time I will be this complimentary.

Last on food for thought, this realization reminded me of something. My friend Mark said in acting class the other day that he went out to eat with some friends at a super crappy, hole in the wall chines restaurant that people would usually be turned off by. However, what he really enjoyed about this outing was that it was not about the place that they were at, but rather the dinner with friends was really nice. I related this story to my birthday. I didn't go anywhere fancy except for a yogurt shop with three of my closest friends, and on top it, I baked and watched Snapped (mutual love for that show with Gabbers!) but I had a fabulous 20th birthday because of the people I was with. Thanks to Mark for sharing the story, I really loved it (but don't get used to the compliments, I don't give them out usually hahaaha). I'm just so blessed. Happy Birthday, Mollie Amburgey.

Batter Up!

This semester has definitely taken a turn that I was not expecting.
I thought I had my plan all together.
I had grown so much during the summer, ready to take on the rest of the year.
And then, three days into school, my plans all fell apart.

The show I wanted to make? I didn't.
Sorority rush? Didn't happen either.
Having the knack to balance out my classes? Please. Not possible.
Being in control of my life? I am out of control.

All I wanted to do was to have something concrete that I felt good about, something that still made me feel accomplished. The gym is fine and all, but you can only go so much. The scene shop...well I can't even hold a drill straight. Drugs? Well that's not my thing either. I'm not really into the whole grinding minerals into a plastic bag sort of thing. I grew up with peanut butter and jelly for lunch.

And then one day, in stagecraft class (God help us all for assigning me to be in the scene shop), some guy cracked some sexist joke about women working in the kitchen, while another said "well we know that you ladies like to bake and all." That's when it hit me. Why not hit up the kitchen a little? Damnnit, I'm taking up baking. I'm trading in the script for the spatula and starting a movement. Who cares if it is sexist? Who cares if people claim I'm becoming a housewife? Those who cannot use the stove cannot complain, and while you are at it, pick up a cookie on your way out the door, maybe it will sweeten you up some!

After that day, I have been making all kinds of cookies, from sugar (my favorite) to even pink funfetti for Breast Cancer Awareness (my roommate is a Zeta and their philantrophy is Susan J. Komen Breast Cancer for the Cure), and I even made lovely blueberry muffins for that Stagecraft class that inspired me to take up baking. After one bite, they were forever silenced. Thanks Betty once again! You're a life saver.

So now I have this blog, not just for your entertainment, but for mine as well. It will include my life adventures (or at least the ones I care to share with you) and then, of course, including my baking adventures. So keep on looking out for me and my enthusiam. Oh, and if you hated this post, I'm not concerned. As you can see, I have a lot of love to go around.