Best. Night. EVER.

LOMAH has apparently satisfied his urge to up his post rate for November and is going to retreat to semi-retirement again this month (allegedly!). But I had a couple more posts up my sleeve that I didn't get to air before yesterday - oops - so I'll post them this week. Including this one!

Best Night EVER!
Karaoke with the crew! Friends from my school program have been organizing random karaoke nights over the past couple years, and while I initially was repulsed at the idea, it turns out it's the most fun thing you've ever done in your whole entire life of fun things done with amazing people all over the world and in your hometown and in the mountains and in your bedroom. Seriously. Want some evidence? Oh I'll give you evidence!

Yes, that's a tamborine, and that's a beer; two things that make the world a better place to be. Yes, I'm singing.

You almost don't need a caption on this one, right? You already know that's yours truly giving her guts to Alannah Myles' Black Velvet - and rawking it, I must say!

Would the night be complete without a little Paula Abdul? Hells no!

 
And there was dancing on the tables, oh yes there was!

Rocco channeling Curt Cobain, to great acclaim. Nasty, nasty wig provided by own of the more forward thinking karaoke conspirators.

The picture that captures the entire evening in a glimpse. Divine.

I drank so much beer and normally would have been under the table early in the night, but instead after karaoke we retreated again to F&H's place for our own private dance party. It's true, one of the group tells tales of waking up mid-morning to puke violently, but otherwise I think we all survived. Survived to live another day, to sing another song. To karaoke.  

Lols

I know. It's really only funny to me.

You've seen this right? Jesus, you've really gotta see this if you haven't seen this. See this.

Quit while you're ahead

I'm in a book! I've co-authored a couple articles on comfort in built environments (i.e., can operable windows and control over building heating make you a more happy, productive, and obedient employee?) with a team of solid academics at UBC. Ray Cole, our lead author, is like a king in green architecture, so we knew the articles would get some play. In fact both articles had been commissioned from him and I was just lucky enough to become a co-author, almost by chance.

It turns out that one of the special issues has been printed as a book, published by Routledge! I had no idea this was coming, and neither did my supervisor, so we were both surprised to find bound hard copies on our respective desks this week. Yeehaw! When we met yesterday we shared a "what the hell?" moment of surprise, then I suggested that I've made it and I should be free to quit the PhD now. Strangely he agreed...maybe I should be looking for a new supervisor?

Guys, I really think this is gonna be a bestseller. You knew me when!

Cozy crafting

Inspired by a friend who recently made a gorgeous softshell jacket all by himself, I undertook a craft project recently to make a dress that's been in my head for months.

Here are some pics of the finished dress. The fabric is a fairly heavy sweatshirt material, and the pockets are lined with navy microfleece that I had lying around because I thought four layers of the sweatshirt fabric would be super bulky. I wasn't planning on pockets for this dress but the pattern I used for a base had pockets, and now I'm glad I dared because they pockets turned out really well and in the future I'll be less afraid to add such details. The bottom and sleeve hems are raw in the hope that they will curl up with wear the way old sweatshirts do. The neck edging is totally made up by me and looks a bit shoddy if you ask me. The final overall look is definitely homemade, but what more was I expecting, having not sewed from a pattern in 15 years? I'll probably wear it around a bit for casual days, but ultimately it's not the dress that I had imagined it could be. At the very least it's got me sewing again, and I learned a lot from doing it, so bring on future projects (and forgive my cheesy posing!)!

A tale of two films

This first one is circulating on f*&$book, so some of you may have seen it already. It's worth watching; it's beautiful.



The second film is a kind of response to the first. It's less beautiful, maybe, and more wonderful, definitely.



I like the second one more simply because the man in the second film is far less creepy and sinister than the man in the first film. There's something to be said for simply being who you are, warts and puke, n' all.

Ay Carumba Crunchy Cauli!

Long time no blog, so I'm falling back on my safe space: food blogging.

I invented a little dish last night that is destined to be a recurring character at our table. Ay Carumba Crunchy Cauli! This is inspired by the cauliflower at Nuba, for any Vancouverites reading. Here's a picture that is not mine but loosely resembles the creation:


1 head cauliflower, cleaned and broken into medium sized florets
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp cornmeal (for crunch)
1/2 tsp sugar

Crank your oven to 500F! My old oven aims for such high heat but doesn't quite get there so I think my cauli cooked at 450F or so, but aim high! Melt the butter somehow (I did it in the oven in the casserole dish I would use to cook the veggies), then put the cauli in a bowl and pour the butter over top. Stir to coat. In a small bowl mix all the seasoning, flour, and cornmeal together. Toss it with the buttered cauli until all is evenly coated. Pour veggies into a medium casserole dish so it can sit in one layer, then sprinkle with sugar before you pop it in the oven. Stir after 10 minutes, return to oven for another 10. Done!

A 20 minute cauliflower dish with mega crunch and tasty spicing! We ate this over mixed greens alongside a bowl of potato leek soup Rocco made last week. Wish I'd taken a picture! I want to serve the cauliflower as an appetizer at my next party, with toothpicks. We had it hot last night but I bet it would be delicious just warm and the cornmeal will help it stay crunchy even as the temp changes. I'm pretty certain the Nuba version uses almonds, and next time I'll experiment with sprinkling toasted almond slices over top after cooking, or maybe even subbing some of the flour with ground almonds. Mmmm delicious!