Money, money, money August 19, 2008
Posted by Sara in Mahalo.Tags: cheap gas, money saving tips
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The cost of everything is still sky-high. Whenever I think about how poor I am, I start humming ABBA’s “Money, Money, Money” to myself. Ah, ABBA–is there any situation you didn’t cover through the magic of song?
One thing I try to do to make ends meet is save money on gas–check out the link for a helpful Mahalo How To guide.
Baking August 19, 2008
Posted by Sara in Food.Tags: muffins
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I love baking, even during the summer. Of course it’s more pleasant to do so in the fall and winter than in the heat of summer, but I can always turn on the oven and then scurry back to another air-conditioned room. Muffins are great to make–they’re expensive to buy, so I can make a dozen muffins for the price of one from a bakery. Plus, when I make them myself I know exactly how good or bad they are (usually bad–muffins are not a health food, sadly).
For posterity’s sake, and of course due to overwhelming public demand, here is one recipe I’ve used quite frequently:
Cappuccino Chocolate Muffins
- 4TB softened butter
- 2TB grapeseed oil
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 cup egg substitute
- 1 TB coffee dissolved in 2 TB boiling wate
- 3 oz. plain yogurt
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup flour
- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375. Mix butter, oil, and sugar together. Stir in egg and vanilla. Stir in dissolved coffee (let it cool a little before adding, to avoid risk of cooking egg). Put flours, salt and baking soda on top of liquid ingredients. Stir dry ingredients together, then fold with liquid ingredients. Fold in yogurt. Stir in flaxseed. Fold in chocolate chips. Distribute among 12 muffin cups and bake for 20-25 minutes.
Adapted from this recipe.
The BBC should live in the past August 3, 2008
Posted by Sara in British TV.add a comment
I love BBC period costume drama. I just saw North and South, and loved it. Loved it. Some people said that adaptation was better than the BBC’s Pride and Prejudice. I don’t know if I’d go that far, but it was pretty damn good. I also enjoyed their Robin Hood series (until they killed Marian, the bastards), Servants, and all the Dickens adaptations (last year’s Oliver Twist was spectacular, and don’t get me started on how good Bleak House was). Watch the ending of North and South and you’ll see how great it is:
But when I try to watch contemporary BBC dramatic series, I usually feel embarrassed for them. Take the two most recent series I’ve watched: A Thing Called Love and Bonekickers. A Thing Called Love was about some sap called Gary nattering on in an incomprehensible northern accent about how he can’t find love, even though about five minutes into the series, you could tell he should hook up with his best friend Paula. Five hours later, Gary realizes this too–but in the meantime the viewer is forced to watch Gary whinging, his handicapped brother get run over by a car, and his best mate Kelvin (who is married and straight) get raped by some guy he met at a pub peep show. Charming.
Bonekickers is something else entirely: a group of archaeologists who are constantly getting thrown into dangerous, politically murky situations. Paying no attention to death threats, flying bullets, and impending explosions, they keep going–all in the name of archaeology. So far they’ve discovered Jesus’ cross (which was buried near Bath, and which they quickly burned), an American conspiracy to hide the fact that George Washington wanted to share power with freed slaves, a Babylonian prophecy that will bring peace to Iraq (why didn’t George W. Bush and John McCain think of that?!), and the fact that the Celtic queen Boudica actually was in love with a Roman. I look forward to each week’s episode, curious to learn more about history from this trusted source.
P.S. Life on Mars was the exception that proves the rule–and a period costume drama in its own way. Comedies are another matter entirely.
