There’s a lot I want to write about, but as is so often the case I don’t have time to get into it right now. I’ll just bullet-point a few things:
-I’ve downloaded a program to try and help cure me of my computer and internet addiction. It reminds me to take breaks every half hour. I haven’t used it for very long yet, but I’m hopeful that it will help me reshape my habits.
-My creative writing professor says my story is good and that he’s impressed with the extent to which I was able to convey something that is difficult to convey. I trust his opinion, so I’m pleased that he thinks my story is something to be proud of. I am proud of it.
-The 2005 meeting of the Organization of American Historians will probably be held in San Jose, instead of in lovely San Francisco. This is a shame, but on the other hand, it’ll be a lot more convenient now for me to get to and from the meeting, since I’ll be home then for Spring Break.
-A list of tips and websites I made for apartment-hunting in LA has helped someone else find an apartment! This is very gratifying. At some point when I have time I’ll make the list into a webpage and post that. If you would like to see it now, download the Word document here.[no longer available]
And now, some photos.
This weekend while I was at home, Erik made a wonderful sketch of me reading.
The proportions are a little off, but it really captures something about me.
Tonight I had a big craving for short-crust pastry, so I tried out Ellen Leong Blonder’s recipe for savory dim sum turnovers. I made a tasty filling with textured soy protein, potatoes, onions, green onions, and curry powder. I was stupidly short-sighted and made the filling first, so it sat around while I made the pastry dough and chilled it for a while. (It was supposed to go into the fridge for an hour, but I was hungry so I stuck it in the freezer to speed things up.) The dough is almost all shortening, so it was very soft and forgiving to work with.
The pastry was incredibly, wonderfully flaky, without a doubt the flakiest pastry I have ever made. Almost like phyllo, but more substantial.
Problem was, since it was shortening and not butter, it also had very little flavor. All texture and no taste. Sigh. Next time I’ll try half butter.
Also, I was craving a more tender dough, a little more moist than this one. But oh well. These were very satisfying hot out of the oven. And I had five kiwis for dessert. Not such a bad dinner.
[This post was imported on 4/10/14 from my old blog at satsumabug.livejournal.com.]
satsumabug.com | Lisa Hsia 
Those remind of the filipino empanadas I had recently (I have to say, I like them better than their argentinian counterparts). The filling for your turnovers sound quite delectable though…I hope you get the pastry recipe down so you can share it later 🙂
Thank you 🙂 I’m definitely going to work on the pastry some more sometime in the future. It’s a very sturdy dough and so obscenely flaky!–I have a feeling it will be very versatile and translate well to all kinds of other goodies, like strudels and pies and tarts and things.
Mmm… pie…
I have this obsession with encasing foods within foods (i.e. beef wellington, bacon/prosciutto-wrapped meats), so perhaps your neutral tasting pastry shell would go well to “blanket” some meat dishes? But strudels, pies and tarts are no small matter either!
I haven’t eaten most kinds of meats in three or four years, so the meat idea’s out for me, but if I get the pastry perfected and recipe posted, I’d love to see you try it! The pastry probably would go well with meats–it’s substantial enough not to be overwhelmed.
geebus tell erik to stop being so good at EVERYTHING!!
Haha – at the present I’m actually trying to subtly upgrade his clothes. 😉 It’s not the clothes themselves, it’s his habit of putting tons of stuff in his pockets…
pastries look amazing… so does the picture.
are you presenting anything in the meeting? or is just for interest?
by the way, it’s dorit.
Hi Dorit 🙂
Don’t worry, I knew it was you.
I’m having some more of the pastries now, for breakfast. They’re pretty good at room temperature too.
I am not presenting at the meeting–haven’t yet produced anything presentable in grad school! But people have told us we should go to these meetings and check them out, and since it’s in the Bay Area, I thought it’d be a good idea. Plus, the list of presentations sounds really great, so I’m looking forward to it.
yup, those conferences are great for networking, whether or not you present… just make sure to get over initial shyness and GO TALK TO PEOPLE – I always find that so hard to do! (professor shy. my knees always shake when I go talk to a professor. there must be a cure).
pastries: jealous!!! 😉
Thank you for the advice! I think I’ll feel braver because some of my cohort will be there too, and we support and encourage each other… plus we’re all going to want to talk about who we talked to, and I’ll want to have something to say. 😉 No, but seriously, there are going to be some profs there that I’m really interested in and who don’t work anywhere near here, so I’ll want to at least introduce myself to them.