How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying

Yes, this is the one with Daniel Radcliffe in it.  If you have the chance to see this show, you should definitely make the effort.  Daniel Radcliffe does a superb job, as does the rest of the cast, the dialogue is flawless and hysterical, the songs were spectacular, and the choreography was amazing.  Yes, I realize this is finals week, but I am a firm believer in well-deserved study breaks (and even notso well-deserved study breaks), especially when there are theatre tickets at a great price.  Such a treat!

Breakfast of Champions, Or At Least Of Old Ladies

So my concussed self is still recovering.  Womp womp.  I've been taking it pretty easy for the past week and a half.  We (me, myself, and I) are at the point where I'm starting to feel massively guilty about it - and then I go up a flight of stairs and I'm exhausted.  (Translation: I've become that obnoxious person that takes the elevator up two floors.)  Anyway, I came back from my first class of the day hungry and cranky, so I made myself the best breakfast EVER - the breakfast of champions: toast with jam and cheddar cheese (what up, my Vermonters) and a massive cup of black tea with milk and honey.  There may have even been a teapot and a makeshift tea-cosy involved.

Makeshift tea-cosy/champion of the rectification
of a botched consideration of Bernoulli's Principle

Dobby and his tea cosy hat

The towel is actually there because it's a crap teapot that has a tendency to drip during the sacred act of tea pouring.  It also has the lovely effect of keeping my tea warm.

Another great tragedy of dorm-life is the lack of toasters.  As someone who considers toast to be a gift from God right up there with Jesus (it's warm bread), I was enthralled to remember how my grandmother maintains her most civilized breakfast habits without a toaster (or, for that matter, a microwave, not that breakfast usually calls for a microwave). She uses the oven.  Gasp.  So here I have adopted her methods to make my toast and do my best to not unknowingly find myself in the infernal abyss of pop tarts.

Turn the oven on.  This is a good first step.  I usually decide to turn on the broiler (which means just the top coils heat to 500 degrees) because it gets really hot really fast and you don't have to heat the entire oven to toast the bread.  Regardless, you do not have to wait until the oven is officially preheated.  Make sure that the top rack is as close to the coils on top as possible.  I put the bread on a baking sheet, but you can put the slices on the rack as well.  If you are using something made of pyrex, check to see if it can withstand the almighty powers of the broiler.  If it can't, it shouldn't be too big of a deal because the oven won't actually get that hot, but still.  Remembering an oven mitt or a really giant wad of paper towels from the bathroom, take the toast out when it has crisped to your pleasure.  Keep in mind that it will look/be more toasted when you take it out of the oven and it cools.

tea, a drink with jam and bread

Pick the jam of your choice (try farmer's market jams... expensive but delicious) and the cheese that speaks to you, although I think extra sharp cheddar always blends perfectly with any jam, be it tart or sweet.  Right now, I have a jar of plum jam, although I'm a fan of most of the berries as well.

the toast, jam, and cheese in all its light-reflecting glory

As for the tea, I like PG Tips - especially their black tea, although Trader Joe's also has some Mango Black Tea that is subtle but sweet when you add honey.  Boil the water, pour the water, add the tea bag, and let it steep for awhile.  I usually add a spoonful of honey and a bit of milk.  Be careful not to add too much, otherwise you will end up with tepid tea-flavored milk.  Consume.  Preferably with music in the background and the paper or a good book in front of you.

There's a bunch of songs that I want to post right now, but none of them are entirely appropriate for breakfast in the traditional sense of the word - just in the weird it's-almost-noon-and-I-haven't-eaten-yet-but-hell-I'm-in-college-and-becoming-nocturnal-except-I'm-not-really-sleeping-during-the-day-either kind of way.  So here's a song that is mellow but also has a good, energizing beat.  It's a song by the artist Brett Dennen, who is kind of folksy in that campfire way.

Tiramisu

"Tiramisu" in Italian literally means "pick me up."  And with a combination of sugar, cream, espresso, and chocolate, that's exactly what it is.  Oh, and the a splash of rum or brandy helps.  It's like the Red Bull of Roman Gladiators.  (We'll just ignore the fact that the first documented Tiramisu seems to be in the '70s...)

Two days ago, at Rugby practice, I managed to be the one of the participants in a mutual head butting.  So now I have a concussion and swelling all around my forehead and nose, plus my forehead split just above my right eye.  But you should see the other girl.  (She was shaken but otherwise seems to be totally fine.)  I went to the hospital, hung out for about seven hours, and the ER doctor finally glued my forehead (apparently this is what they do now instead of stitches) around 4 am.  It looks like I'll have to wear sunscreen or a hat at all times for the next six months to prevent pigmentation (yay for having the pallor of...I don't know...a really pale person).  Regardless, I'll have some sort of scar over my right eye.  Which is exactly where Harry Potter's scar is.  Score.

After stumbling back to campus, taking a shower, and sleeping the day away, a pick-me-up was exactly what I needed.  So my lovely friends came over and we made tiramisu from a website called Cooking for Engineers.  Mock all you want, but the recipes are fantastic and has a well-made chart ever really hurt anyone?!

According to the terms of the website, I'm not allowed to repost the actual recipe and I'm not willing to risk the privilege of viewing this gift from the graphically-oriented culinary gods.  So here is the recipe.  Go crazy.  It's super easy and very delicious.  It's kind of a pain to beat the whipping cream with just a whisk, but this is why we have friends!

What would Italian dessert be without Italian music?  Here's a popular Italian song by the artist Neffa.  It's called "Cambierà" (which means "things will change"):

It reminds me a tiny bit of Randy Newman, at least in the beginning.  If you like song, listen to "La mis signorina," which I also like.  It's interesting because Neffa's songs are classified in a range of genres, from funk to R&B to hip-hop and rap.

Caitlin mixing the mascarpone, sugar, and rum 

The soaked lady fingers

For those of you that do not know, tiramisu is a dessert that is composed of layers - usually two different layers repeated twice.  The first is a layer of lady fingers that have been dipped in a mixture of coffee and espresso.  The cookies are extremely delicate, so they absorb the liquid and begin to fall apart, especially under the weight of the rest of the dessert.  The second layer is generally a combination of mascarpone cheese, sugar, rum, and eggs, although in this case we used heavy whipping cream (and thus did not eat raw eggs and toned our biceps).

Whipping the cream.  This took awhile.

Still whipping the cream.  Ariana is laughing concernedly.

Caitlin's hands folding the mixture.
What would her mother say about those chipped nails?

One thing I will say about the recipe: I've made this recipe twice now, and the type of lady fingers you purchase really makes a difference.  The first time my sister and I made it, the lady fingers were incredibly light and airy, so dunking them in coffee sometimes resulted in their disintegration if we weren't careful.  Last night, the lady fingers I bought had a layer of sugar on top that made it more difficult for the cookies to absorb the coffee and espresso mix.  It resulted in a tiramisu that had some very cookie-like layers.  That said, the lady fingers became spongier over night, so it didn't really matter.  And guess what?  Pretty much all of the ingredients can be purchased at Trader Joe's!

The extra lady fingers and the tiramisu, in all its glory