A Real Weekend
Aug. 6th, 2007 10:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
batskeetsFinally, a weekend that didn't wipe me out! We were long overdue, for sure.
We went rafting on Saturday with Thomas and his ladyfriend, and that was very relaxed and groovy. That part of the Santiam was definitely not as tough as my first trip out... enough so that I somehow ended up trying my hand at guiding. XD I sure don't like having to boss people around when I haven't even figured out what I'm supposed to be doing yet, but I managed to get through without tossing us all in the drink. After we got done, it was pizza and beer at a nearby joint, which actually wasn't too bad, although the waiter dude had a clumsy moment and flung like half a beer on Thomas... and he still got charged for it. WTF?
After we got back, we were fairly wiped, so we met up with Nathan and saw Paprika. I enjoyed it, there was some cool animation, and that nice element of "WTF?" in the plotline that you often get with anime. It's rather nice to NOT be beaten over the head with completely obvious plot points, like a lot of movies do.
We were supposed to do a high fashion shoot on Sunday, and the Hair/Makeup lady arrived a few minutes early and ready to go... but, unsurprisingly, the model didn't show, claiming that she was stranded and waiting for a tow truck. :p I'd like to give her the benefit of the doubt, but this happened *after* she'd already been committing to shoot dates and then backing out on them later. Unfortunately, the model choice was the designer's, not ours, so we were pretty much stuck. If this ever gets rescheduled, I am definitely arranging for a second model.
The cancellation was okay, though, because we were able to head down to SW and play ultimate frisbee! Ben found a posting on Craigslist for a pickup group of people who were laid-back and open to playing with beginner types, so we went and ran around like maniacs for an hour or so. It was definitely fun, and hopefully we can make the next one. :D
After that, it was dinner, baking and kicking back with a Wii game rental. We got the new Harry Potter game, which leaves a bit to be desired with the interface, at times, but waving around the Wiimote to do crazy magic wand stuff is rather amusing. :) We also have Cooking Mama, which we haven't tried yet, but it just looks funny to me, so we'll see.
For my baking experiment of the evening, I made VEGAN LEMON BARS. I frankensteined some recipes together, and the bars turned out excellent and likely much healthier than traditional bars. I think that next time, I might like to add a crumb topping or something, but I'll share what I did:
CRUST:
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1/3 c. + 1 Tbsp. non-hydrogenated margarine
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup shredded coconut
FILLING:
1 1/3 c. water
3 Tbsp. agar agar flakes
1 c. sugar
2-3 drops yellow food coloring (optional)
2/3 c. fresh lemon juice
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. lemon zest
1/4 c. rice milk
Preheat oven to 350 F and grease a 13 x 9 inch baking pan.
Mix flour, sugar, and coconut well, then add margarine and pulse in food processor until mixture is relatively uniform and there are no clumps or globs. Press into the baking pan into an even layer. Bake crust for 20 mins, or until nicely browned on top, then take it out to cool.
While the crust is baking, soak the agar agar in the water for 15 minutes, in a saucepan. Meanwhile, zest your lemons and squeeze your lemon juice. Mix the cornstarch into the lemon juice to dissolve.
When the agar has been soaking for 15 minutes, turn the heat up and bring to a boil. Boil for about 10 minutes, or until the agar is dissolved. Add the sugar and food coloring and boil until dissolved, about 3 minutes. Lower the heat to medium and add the cornstarch/lemon juice mixture, then add the lemon zest and soy milk. Whisk for about 5 minutes, or until the mixture thickens.
Pour the mixture into the crust, let cool for about 1/2 hour, until the filling is only slightly jiggly and set. Slice into squares and serve.
NOTES:
1) I used a rice-based margarine alternative to keep it low-cal, but it claimed to have some dairy ingredients in it. If you're concerned about keeping it vegan, Earth Balance spread seems to be the margarine of choice.
2) Reference materials included a couple of random Internets recipes, and the PostPunkKitchen version. PPK had a great vegan filling strategy, but I couldn't quite abide a whole cup of margarine in that itty bitty bit of crust!
3) If anyone actually tries making this, and the filling isn't set after cooling, stick it in the fridge for a couple of hours. Instructions suggested doing that, but I didn't need to.
4) Feel free to up the baking time on the crust by 5-10 minutes, if it doesn't look done. Our oven likes to burn the tops of things, so I pulled it earlier than some folks might need to.
5) I like my desserts to *not* be sickeningly sweet, so I scaled back the sugar on this. If you want more sweet, throw in another 1/4 c. sugar into the filling, and/or a few Tbsp. sugar into the crust.
So, yeah. I'm a little sad to be back at work already, because I want more weekend like that! But, I'm feeling pretty satisfied, at the moment.
We went rafting on Saturday with Thomas and his ladyfriend, and that was very relaxed and groovy. That part of the Santiam was definitely not as tough as my first trip out... enough so that I somehow ended up trying my hand at guiding. XD I sure don't like having to boss people around when I haven't even figured out what I'm supposed to be doing yet, but I managed to get through without tossing us all in the drink. After we got done, it was pizza and beer at a nearby joint, which actually wasn't too bad, although the waiter dude had a clumsy moment and flung like half a beer on Thomas... and he still got charged for it. WTF?
After we got back, we were fairly wiped, so we met up with Nathan and saw Paprika. I enjoyed it, there was some cool animation, and that nice element of "WTF?" in the plotline that you often get with anime. It's rather nice to NOT be beaten over the head with completely obvious plot points, like a lot of movies do.
We were supposed to do a high fashion shoot on Sunday, and the Hair/Makeup lady arrived a few minutes early and ready to go... but, unsurprisingly, the model didn't show, claiming that she was stranded and waiting for a tow truck. :p I'd like to give her the benefit of the doubt, but this happened *after* she'd already been committing to shoot dates and then backing out on them later. Unfortunately, the model choice was the designer's, not ours, so we were pretty much stuck. If this ever gets rescheduled, I am definitely arranging for a second model.
The cancellation was okay, though, because we were able to head down to SW and play ultimate frisbee! Ben found a posting on Craigslist for a pickup group of people who were laid-back and open to playing with beginner types, so we went and ran around like maniacs for an hour or so. It was definitely fun, and hopefully we can make the next one. :D
After that, it was dinner, baking and kicking back with a Wii game rental. We got the new Harry Potter game, which leaves a bit to be desired with the interface, at times, but waving around the Wiimote to do crazy magic wand stuff is rather amusing. :) We also have Cooking Mama, which we haven't tried yet, but it just looks funny to me, so we'll see.
For my baking experiment of the evening, I made VEGAN LEMON BARS. I frankensteined some recipes together, and the bars turned out excellent and likely much healthier than traditional bars. I think that next time, I might like to add a crumb topping or something, but I'll share what I did:
CRUST:
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1/3 c. + 1 Tbsp. non-hydrogenated margarine
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup shredded coconut
FILLING:
1 1/3 c. water
3 Tbsp. agar agar flakes
1 c. sugar
2-3 drops yellow food coloring (optional)
2/3 c. fresh lemon juice
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. lemon zest
1/4 c. rice milk
Preheat oven to 350 F and grease a 13 x 9 inch baking pan.
Mix flour, sugar, and coconut well, then add margarine and pulse in food processor until mixture is relatively uniform and there are no clumps or globs. Press into the baking pan into an even layer. Bake crust for 20 mins, or until nicely browned on top, then take it out to cool.
While the crust is baking, soak the agar agar in the water for 15 minutes, in a saucepan. Meanwhile, zest your lemons and squeeze your lemon juice. Mix the cornstarch into the lemon juice to dissolve.
When the agar has been soaking for 15 minutes, turn the heat up and bring to a boil. Boil for about 10 minutes, or until the agar is dissolved. Add the sugar and food coloring and boil until dissolved, about 3 minutes. Lower the heat to medium and add the cornstarch/lemon juice mixture, then add the lemon zest and soy milk. Whisk for about 5 minutes, or until the mixture thickens.
Pour the mixture into the crust, let cool for about 1/2 hour, until the filling is only slightly jiggly and set. Slice into squares and serve.
NOTES:
1) I used a rice-based margarine alternative to keep it low-cal, but it claimed to have some dairy ingredients in it. If you're concerned about keeping it vegan, Earth Balance spread seems to be the margarine of choice.
2) Reference materials included a couple of random Internets recipes, and the PostPunkKitchen version. PPK had a great vegan filling strategy, but I couldn't quite abide a whole cup of margarine in that itty bitty bit of crust!
3) If anyone actually tries making this, and the filling isn't set after cooling, stick it in the fridge for a couple of hours. Instructions suggested doing that, but I didn't need to.
4) Feel free to up the baking time on the crust by 5-10 minutes, if it doesn't look done. Our oven likes to burn the tops of things, so I pulled it earlier than some folks might need to.
5) I like my desserts to *not* be sickeningly sweet, so I scaled back the sugar on this. If you want more sweet, throw in another 1/4 c. sugar into the filling, and/or a few Tbsp. sugar into the crust.
So, yeah. I'm a little sad to be back at work already, because I want more weekend like that! But, I'm feeling pretty satisfied, at the moment.
