day 17-sick of me yet?

17. favorite piece of art

i really like all kinds of different things, but i love the work of ansel adams and this is one of my favorites. he was brilliant with light and texture and i just love to look at his stuff.

day 16

16. a song that makes me cry

i couldnt think of anything recent that brought me to tears(i am sure there is something out there),so i did a google search for "tear jerker songs" and this sawyer brown tune was listed as one of the top 10. it doesnt make me cry anymore, but it did back in the day.



in my search, one list mentioned a davie bowie song which made me think of another bowie song that mr ex man sent me. the first time i watched in on youtube, i literally sobbed. it was definitely a message song and it made such a difference at the time.

day 15-half over

15.fanfic? i dont think so. all i can think about is this lady in my ward that is so into twilight fan fiction that its downright embarrassing. she has asked me to read it and its really embarrassing.no matter how great the medium, i would not want to be associated with it because of her. its not that she is a bad writer, but her story lines are so crazy and an obvious fantasy of how she would like to be. gross.
one last random thought. i am starving. my stomach is growling, but its almost midnight and i have already brushed my teeth. go to bed hungry? quite a dilemma.

now this is just getting ridiculous

mr jack mormon was texting me last night when mr great white north popped in as well. WHAT THE HELL?

what were you doing in june of 1997?

i had just been in my new(first time home buyer!) house for six months, msof was recovered from a major car accident(all his fault) and was back to work, and i was apparently tearing recipes out of magazines. i have a huge notebook full of recipes i have torn out of magazines, so that is not a big surprise, but looking at the date, it made me think of what was going on in my life at that time. just like mccalls magazine, msof and i are no longer in print. nine months later, i invited him to leave our home.

today i am making creme brulee from that article in the june 1997 issue of mccalls magazine called the simple secret to creme brulee.



creme brulee

2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise or 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract.
5 large egg yolks
1/2 c granulated sugar
pinch of salt
4 cups boiling water
5 tbs superfine sugar
in a small saucepan, combine cream and milk. scrape seeds from vanilla bean into the mixture(or add extract) heat to just simmering;remove from heat. cover. let steep 20 min.
preheat oven to 325. place 6 ramekins in 9x13 baking pan. in bowl, beat egg yolks, sugar, and salt. gently stir into cream mixture.
strain custard through fine sieve into 1 qt glass measuring cup. pour into ramekins. add enough boiling water to 9x13 pan to come up half way ramekins. bake 48-50 min, until custard edges are set, but center is jiggly.
remove ramekins to wire rack to cool.
cover will plastic wrap.
chill overnight.
preheat broiler to highest setting. blot any moisture from top of custard with a paper towel. place one ramekin on a baking sheet. sprinkle 2 1/2 tsp sugar evenly over the top to cover custard. broil 4 inces from heat source, rotating baking sheet for one minute, until sugar is melted and caramelized.
let stand for a few minutes for sugar to harden. creme brulee can be refrigerated for up to 1 hour after caramelizing.

day 14

14. non fiction book.
just off the top of my head....i am going to say "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People". i think everyone should read it. seriously. i am FAR from being a perfect practitioner of coveys 7 steps, but it has made me really think about stuff and make important changes. its one you can read over and over and not necessarily in order. go back and read step 5 first, if you want to. it doesnt matter because it is good information. maybe i will go dig it out and read it again RIGHT NOW!

day 13 of me, me, me and more ME

13. a fictional book

i recently read shutter island and really liked it. i dont think i ever would have picked it up on my own, but a friend wanted me to read it and go see the movie with her. even though it is kind of suspenseful and mysterious, its a fairly easy read. i am usually pretty good at figuring out surprise endings and while i knew SOMETHING was coming, i didnt have it figured out.
has anyone else read shutter island? what did you think of it?