chocolate silk pie

as this week has gone by, i have looked forward to almost nothing more than all the food, particularly my specialty around this time of year, my soon-to-be-famous chocolate silk pie. i don't have any pictures of it (yet), but you can take my word for it - it looks fantastic and tastes even better. since the recipe isn't exactly a guarded secret, i figured i would share:

chocolate cookie crust:

• 2 cups crushed chocolate cookies
• ¾ cup melted butter

preheat oven to 375° f.

combine the crumbs and butter in a medium bowl and mix well. Firmly press the crumb mixture evenly into the bottom and up the sides of an 8-inch pie plate. bake for eight minutes. cool before filling.

french chocolate silk:

• 1 stick butter (in eight equal pads)
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 oz. unsweetened chocolate square melted and cooled
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 large eggs*
• 1 chocolate cookie crust
• whipped cream
• chocolate curls

mix butter and sugar, beat in chocolate and vanilla. add one egg at a time, beating five minutes each on medium. turn into baked pie shell. chill overnight. garnish with whipped cream and chocolate curls.

*since the pie filling is never baked, i use pasteurized egg substitute suitable to replace 2 eggs.

2012

since the day i first saw the teaser trailer for the movie 2012, i've been over the top excited for it to come out. maybe not in a wait-in-line-for-6-hours-for-the-midnight-premier type of excited, but excited nonetheless.

i was nervous for reviews to come out. i didn't want them to spoil my fun by either setting my expectations too high or too low.

but i ventured out to the theater for the first time in a long while last night, and i have to say, it was perfect. film snobs may not remember 2012 as a classic, but there's not much more you can ask of an apocalypse movie. it was not only completely epic where it needed to be, and serious where it needed to be, it was one of the funniest movies i've seen in a long time.

no one else in the audience seemed to think it was as funny as i did, but they just didn't understand. also i got punched in the arm many times by my friends whom i was embarrassing. all in all, highly recommended! and you'll have much more fun if you go see it with me.

day 4

a whole list of happiness from today:

• three-hour naps instead of homework
• not reading the scarlet letter
• valentín
• jazz band sounds good. league competition next week might go better than expected.
• spanishdict, my favorite english-spanish online dictionary, has an app for my iphone.
• thelonious monk. does much more need to be said?

winter

today was a first hot chocolate of the season, hot bath, do homework with a snuggie kind of day.

it's winter.

and i'm just fine by that.

leonid meteor shower

every 33 years, debris from the remains of commet tempel-tuttel passes through our neck of the woods, giving us a celestial showcase of pure wonder. it peaked last night a bit after midnight, but it was unfortunately too cloudy to be able to see.

but tonight, a quick patch of clear sky gave me the opportunity to catch a meteor before i got too cold.

how magical?

also making me happy: a facebook friend of mine created a facebook event months and months ago for the shower and invited only a few friends. man did it grow- there are just 50 grand short of 1,000,000 attendees on the facebook page today!

a week of happiness

on days like today, when i am generally displeased with the world, (a blog post for a later day, when i've calmed down a bit) it helps to remember the many, many things about this world that make me happy.

i'm going to spend this week blogging each day about one thing that makes me happy each day.

i'll start off with an obvious one: italian food

or more specifically, capellini pomodoro.

i'm pretty sure the news that this is for dinner tonight has made the world a happier place for those around me as well, as they get to escape the wrath of my anger for a little while!

dear iphone,

please stop being so addicting.

or... don't.

quarter 1

how it feels knowing i officially have more of high school behind me than ahead of me:

absolutely fantastic.

quarter grades:

not as fantastic.

but nonetheless life feels pretty spectacular right now. i guess life goes in cycles of various cosas* being 'in place' at various times. it's nice when they all line up. maybe things get complicated eventually, but all i know is that i've slept more this weekend than during the entire previous week, people are well again, i'm nearing in on a time when i'll be able to practice once again, and i'm listening to a song on repeat that sounds like falling in love. (which i have linked to on this blog about 1,296 times more than necessary, so i won't again.)

*my brain works better in spanish sometimes. 'cosas'='things', but is more sophisticated, in my head.

when actual blogging ideas escape me:

reading… through catcher in the rye before i turn in that essay...

keeping… baxter in mind. thoughts for my friend who's going through some medical challenges right now, please!

listening… to moanin' -- my favorite art blakey album.

baking… store-bought brownies. you think i have time for that?

watching… a movie about the cambodian genocide in crisis class today.

trying… to keep it positive.

making… a giant effort to keep up on work.

congratulating… sam and lauren for making all-state orchestra.