Mole Tofu Tacos and Carrot Cake

Sometimes I get up early on the weekends.

This is not by choice.

I went to bed at 3 AM, clutching my hot water bottle (and teddy bear) like a baby and lamenting the fact that my nail polish had smudged. But then I woke up at about 5:24, rip-roarin'-ready to go (probably the Red Bull I had at like 11 PM last night). This happens quite often, actually, and so when I can't get back to sleep, I take advantage of my lack of exhaustion (rarely happens when I actually need it) and clean. Clean, clean clean. Especially when my parents will be seeing my room around 4 hours later. Can't wait to see you, Mama and Baba!

Anyway, after I took a walk (me? walking?) out on Indian Hill with a friend of mine, I came home and decided I wanted to make something with tofu again, since I finished the ginger-sesame marinated tofu pretty damn quickly the day before. I had been eyeing this mole tofu taco recipe from Cara's Cravings for quite some time, but I always shied (that word looks SO weird) away from it because getting chipotles in adobo sauce would involve going to the store since Weshop doesn't carry them. But I figured I'd improvise, as usual, and just use green chiles (I'm so creative). Also Cara's Cravings has tons of other amazing recipes and you should all check it out.

About a third of the way through the recipe (aka the important part), I realized that I had forgotten I was halving the recipe. Meaning I had just put a tablespoon of molasses instead of half a tablespoon. I hate molasses and was reluctant to put it in the sauce, but I figured it was somewhat essential to the flavor. Anyway, we just added another onion (my friend Naomi was over. Hi Naomi!) and it turned out fine. I'd even go so far as to say...delicious.

"You should definitely add cilantro. It'll make the photo look less....yeah just add the cilantro." -Naomi

Mole Tofu Tacos
from Cara's Cravings

Ingredients

• 2 14oz. packages firm tofu
• 1 1/2 large onions
• 1 T coconut oil
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced (I used green chiles instead, but next time I'll be less lazy and go to the store to get these)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 T molasses
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 2 T unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 T creamy peanut butter
• 2.5 c vegetable broth
• 3 oz. tomato paste
• 3 dates (I didn't have these, so I omitted)
• 1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees F. Spray one or two 9x13" glass baking dishes with olive oil spray. Drain and press the tofu, then dice into cubes and arrange in the trays. Spray the tofu with more cooking spray. Bake for 30 minutes, turning 3-4 times, until lightly browned on all sides. Remove from oven.
2. While the tofu is baking, heat the coconut oil over medium heat in a saucepan. Sauté the onions for about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, chipotle pepper, cumin, and coriander. Cook for about 1-2 minutes more, stirring.
3. Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and puree the sauce, using an immersion blender or a regular blender/food processor.
4. Return to pot and add the cooked tofu. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, uncovered, until sauce thickens.
5. Heat some corn tortillas, get out lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, whatever you want.

So delicious. So thick. Who knew that chocolate, peanut butter, adobo sauce, and tomatoes went together?

Anyway, after I took a nap instead of doing work, I had an hour to kill before my friends Ellen and Codi arrived. Since house brunch was the next morning (aka in 3h20m), I figured I'd make the carrot cake then instead of waking up earlier to make it in the morning. It was easier to make than expected. I (smartly) thought that I had to grate the baby carrots by hand, until I realized (aka looked up on the internet) that I could just throw them in the food processor for a few seconds. Those things are magical, I tell you.

After eating a good portion of the batter (fingers crossed no salmonella), I poured it into the springform pan (I don't have a cake pan)....and the bottom almost fell out. Luckily I have awesome reflexes, so I caught it just in time. But man, if it had fallen....I don't even want to think about what cleaning that would be like. K here's the recipe, sent to me by my awesome friend Ellie.

Also I don't like cream cheese frosting, so you can just look up the typical recipe for it if you want.

"I'm too tired to think of a quote right now but I'm so overtired I can't even go to sleep so that's why I'm writing this blog post" -an exhausted me

Carrot Cake with Vanilla Icing
recipe courtesy of The Food Network

Ingredients

• 2.5 c all-purpose flour
• 12 ounces grated carrots (if using baby carrots, just throw them in the food processor for a few seconds)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/3 c sugar
• 1/4 firmly packed brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 6 oz. plain yogurt
• 6 oz. vegetable oil (I used half Smart Balance, half vegetable oil)
• frosting/icing/whatever

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Spray a springform/cake pan with some Pam. If using a cake pan, use a 9-inch round and 3-inch deep one, and line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
3. Put the carrots into a large mixing bowl and set aside.
4. Put the flour, baking powder, spices, and salt in a food processor and process for 5 seconds. Add this mixture to the carrots and toss until they are well-coated with the flour.
5. In the bowl of the food processor combine the sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and yogurt.
6. With the processor still running, drizzle in the vegetable oil. Pour this mixture into the carrot mixture and stir until just combined.
7. Pour into the springform/cake pan and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 45 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 degrees F and bake for another 20 minutes.
8. Remove the pan from the oven and allow cake to cool 15 minutes in the pan. After 15 minutes, turn the cake out onto a rack and allow it to cool completely. Frost or ice with frosting or icing (...).

Yeah I made the mistake of just pouring the icing on with a mere plate underneath. It ended up getting everywhere--on the floor, on the table, on me. It was not fun to clean up this morning. The floor was really sticky.

Oh also I was in the Argus (our school newspaper)! Naomi wrote an article on food and blogging. There are some other really cool blogs there too, so check it out!

Song of the Day-- Salento by René Aubry. A beautiful song to listen to as the sun is rising, or at any time of day.

Recovery Quote of the Day.

Okay, I think it's time I go back to sleep until Mom and Pops get here (slash play DS). Happy Easter (weekend) and a shout-out to my whole family, wherever in the world they may be--love you and wish I could be with you all!!

-Carina

Caligiuri Girls' Weekend in Chicago

Words (besides food and wine) are unable to describe the sheer wonder of this weekend. So I'll let pictures do the talking.

Piranha Plant design in espresso at video game-based café

Table set for 6

....clearly unhappy on the train ride to the airport.

What an amazing weekend. I am so lucky to have such awesome cousins!!!! Love you all so much!! #CGW

Song of the Day-- Daydream in Blue. Great song to jam to in the car.

Recovery-- A nice blog to check out: Stop Hating Your Body.

-Carina

Eggplant Quinoa Lasagna and Chicago Travels

I'd like to think I'm a smart person.

I get good grades (most of the time), I have common sense (some of the time), and I make good decisions (.....).

But yesterday morning, my common sense was a bit off due to the fact that I got approximately 4 hours of sleep (my flight was at 7:35 AM so we had to leave at 6:15). Still, I woke up so excited, because I was gonna fly to Chicago for a girls' weekend with my cousins (#cgw [Caligiuri Girls' Weekend])!!

Anyway, we left at around 6:35 because that's Arab time for 6:15, and arrived about 15 minutes later. I had already checked in online, so I went through security and looked for the gate on the TV screen. I couldn't find it. I checked my boarding pass and realized....I was in the wrong terminal. For some reason, I thought I was flying Continental, mainly because the stupid United logo is the exact same as the Continental logo, (why I looked at the logo and not the name of the airline, I do not know). They merged, but for some reason they decided to keep being separate, and for another strange reason, Logan decided to have them be in different terminals -____-

I asked a security employee what I should do, and he gave me directions for Terminal C (I was in A). I ran like the wind (jk my bags were too heavy. I walked.) and arrived to a new, longer security line. I was freaking out that I was gonna miss my flight. I exchanged conversation with probably the most pleasant airport employee I've ever met, which was nice, and then actually ran like the wind to my gate. I barely made it, thank God. But we ended up waiting on the runway for like half an hour, lol. I felt like such a flying noob when I arrived and was hitting everyone with my bag. The flight attendants kept saying "Is this your first time flying, sweetie?" and I was forced to smile sweetly back and then say "no."

Okay that's enough about my lack of common sense. Time for food.

Every week I make lunch or dinner with my friend Codi, so this week we decided to make Eggplant Quinoa lasagna, inspired by Peas and Thank You. The original recipe calls for Zucchini, but Codi and I are both eggplant fiends, so we decided to replace it. (btw I'm watching TV right now and I find it really funny that the Magnum ice cream company's slogan is "Magnum. For pleasure seekers."). I attempted to slice the eggplant and cut my finger in the process, so my housemate, an expert chef, had to take over for me. We smoked some delicious hookah while waiting (coconut flavor--Leavitt and Peirce in Harvard Square was having a huge sale so I stocked up) until it was ready. And man, was it good. So, here's the recipe. My Auntie Rada made it for me when I was in Dubai over Winter break and it was the most amazing thing. Ever. Love you! Kick Nadia and Amino for me.

"I guess it's more like lasagna casserole. It doesn't really actually looks like lasagna...most of the time." -yours truly

Eggplant Quinoa Lasagna

inspired by Auntie Rada and Peas and Thank You

Ingredients

• 1 large eggplant, cut into thin slices
• salt
• 1 c red quinoa
• 2 c vegetable broth
• 1/2 c tomato sauce
• 1/4 c minced onion
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 c fresh basil, chopped
• 1/4 c fresh parsley, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 jar marinara sauce
• cheese (optional)

Note: Weshop was out of fresh herbs so we just subbed with dried. I tend to use a 1:2 ratio (dried:fresh).

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. To prepare eggplant, cut of a strip off of one side to make a flat base. Then, thinly slice eggplant into 'noodles.' DO NOT CUT YOURSELF. This is important. Really.
3. Place noodles in a colander and sprinkle with salt, layering between paper towels.
4. Let this sit and absorb moisture while preparing the quinoa.
5. Combine quinoa, broth, tomato sauce, onion, and oregano in a large saucepan and bring to a boil.
6. Cover and lower heat, simmering for 20 minutes.
7. When quinoa has absorbed all the liquid, fold in herbs.
8. Add salt and pepper to taste.
9. Pour enough of the marinara sauce in the bottom of an 8x8 baking dish to cover the bottom.
10. Using a dry towel, blot remaining moisture from eggplant and layer enough noodles to cover the next layer over the marinara.
11. Repeat with another layer of quinoa, sauce, and eggplant.
12. Top the final layer of eggplant with remaining sauce and cheese, if using.
13. Bake 35-40 minutes, let cool for 5 minutes.

Seriously, this thing is delicious (all of the time). Make it. Now. It's gluten-free, vegan (if not using cheese, which we didn't), and..delicious. I said that already. The eggplant replaces the lasagna noodles, and the quinoa replaces the meat, but feel free to mix the eggplant with regular noodles.

Anyway, back to the Windy City. Chicago has been awesome. Seeing my cousins has been wonderful, and I was able to see a dear friend of mine who I hadn't seen since May. She took me Intelligentsia yesterday, which was delicious.

"How do they do that?????" -most people, I would think

She took me to Wicker Park today and I got an awesome '50s style dress at Buffalo Exchange. White, classic. Gram would've loved it. We went to a great coffee shop, too, but more on that in the next post.

Anyway, I should get to bed. I'm exhausted and my nails just dried so I can actually go to bed without ruining them (hopefully). Sleeping on the couch is awesome cause then you can watch TV and fall asleep (which I would be able to do if I hadn't forgotten my glasses at school -_____- ).

Song of the Day-- The Phantom (1930 Version) by Parov Stelar. A very catchy song, fun to blast with the sunroof open and windows down.

Recovery Quote of the Day-- I've been looking for a quote like this for a while. I always see "When Did This Become Hotter than This??" with pictures of people like Keira Knightley on top and Marilyn Monroe on the bottom and get really aggravated. Reasoning below.

"Just because you call a woman beautiful who isn't stick thin doesn't mean you're promoting body acceptance. I've said it before, but I'll say it again: We won't resolve our body image issues by creating a battle between size 12 and size zero, or judging someone's health by rudimentary and outdated measures."

K now I should really go--my contacts are so dry. It's really uncomfortable.

-Carina

Tuna Coriander (feat. Andrew Kurban)

Now that I'm back at school, I'm back to reality. Seriously, reality means work, responsibility, and awful weather. Last week was such a tease. Reality also means being so lazy that I drive everywhere due to the cold. I walked to Arabic today, which was a feat. I drove everywhere else. ...

Friday was a beautiful day. I saw a friend from high school, Lexy, who I hadn't seen since May and we smoked hookah and watched Aladdin and cooked with my eccentric (gharib) father. Drinks were consumed (made by pops), food was eaten, bellies were full.

A few scrolls down is a recipe my dad made for our Italian cousins when they came to visit in August and wanted to try Boston seafood. So, naturally, instead of going to a restaurant, my dad decides to design and execute a 9-course meal (I aspire to one day have his skills).

I felt really bad for Lexy as she was the sous-chef and my dad is a very harsh critic and likes things done a very...particular way. I've experienced being his sous-chef many times and let me tell you--it is stressful. There's lots of yelling, mainly in Arabic, many tutorials on how to correctly chop carrots, and me refusing to ever touch celery (they make me cry like onions do). But Lexy was a champ and rather enjoyed the lesson, bonding with my dad over little artistic details in the new room. I sat off to the side, in charge of the music. My dad even chastised me over that (jk pops ana 7ebbo!). But really, he did.

"You're NOT supposed to have it without the sauce!!" -Andrew Kurban, circa August 2011

I haven't really cooked yet since I've been at school. I made a TVP black bean chili last night but I forgot to put in the spices so it came out kind of bland. I had cereal for dessert (9 different kinds, of course). And then today I wasn't feeling the chili so I ordered Baingan Bharta from Tandoor. So delicious. Obviously the right choice. Unfortunately, I forgot my computer charger at home (go me), so I couldn't watch Mad Men (I'm 6 episodes behind fhadsjklh) and promptly decided to actually get my homework done before midnight.

It didn't happen.

So now, I'm blogging instead of reading Kalila wa Dimna for Arabic tomorrow. Those stories are so gruesome. There's one about a pigeon who kills his wife but then realize he was wrong about accusing her and so he killed himself. I can't believe these are children's stories.

Anyway, without further ado, here is the recipe.

"I mixed the celery into yours and you didn't even notice!! See?? You like celery!!" -Andrew Kurban, circa March 2012

Tuna Coriander with Soba Buckwheat Noodles
Ingredients

• 2 c carrots, julienned
• 1/2 c celery, julienned
• 1 c red onions, julienned
• 1/4 c cucumber
• 1/4 c mayonnaise
• 3 T fresh ginger
• 8 tsp minced garlic
• 8 scallions, chopped
• 1/2 c soy sauce
• 5 T minced jalapeños, seeds and membranes removed
• mirin, to taste
• rice vinegar, to taste
• 1 lb. buckwheat soba noodles
• 1/2 c ground coriander
• 1/4 c kosher salt
• 1/4 c ground pepper, coarse
• red pepper flakes
• 2.5 lbs albacore tuna loin, chilled
• grapeseed oil

Instructions

1. Place the carrots, celery, onions, cucumbers into a bowl and set aside.
2. Mix together the mayonnaise, ginger, garlic, green onions, soy sauce, jalapeños, mirin, and rice vinegar to taste (add to get the consistency you want).
3. Add the vegetables to the noodles and toss. Pour the sauce onto the noodles and toss well until the sauce and vegetables are distributed throughout.
4. To prepare the tuna, place the coriander, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl and mix well. Slice the chilled tuna in half lengthwise to form two cylinders of tuna. Rub the spice mixture onto the round portion (not the ends) of the tuna pieces, being sure to spread it evenly on all sides.
5. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Carefully add the tuna pieces and sear for 2 minutes on each side. The tuna should be opaque on the outside, but still raw ion the inside--lower the heat if the tuna starts to brown too quickly.
6. Cut tuna into large slabs/slices and arrange on top of noodles.

"I could really go for that right now." -me, circa now

Song of the Day-- Falsehood by Vijay Iyer, Prasanna, and Nitin Mitta. Absolutely beautiful--the piano and guitar mesh perfectly.

Recovery News of the Day-- Pinterest banned Thinspo boards! About time.

Okay I'm exhausted and want to go to bed, but unfortunately I have a gruesome Arabic story to read.

-Carina

Curried Indian-Style Burritos, Drink on the Side

Cooking is a highly customizable art. It's not like baking, where if you mess one thing up, your entire product comes out deflated or overflowing (I may be speaking from experience). But with cooking, you can't really screw up (except if you misread a recipe and add 2 tablespoons of ginger instead of 2 teaspoons...again, I may be speaking from experience [not a huge fan of ginger]).

I had always heard such grand stories of Kurban family members throwing together a meal minutes before guests arrived with just what they had in the fridge (loljk more like 4 hours in the kitchen the day before). So, attempting to live up to the family name, I tried making a meal with what I had in the pantry. My first attempt ended up being quite successful--a pumpkin enchilada casserole. I was so proud. I had wanted to reach this moment and finally gain my papa's culinary approval--not following a recipe, just 'winging it' (he tends to chastise me when I stick too closely to a recipe).

Anyway, tonight was one of those nights. We were originally gonna go to this delicious-sounding restaurant on Mass Ave called Annapurna, but mom was a little loopy from the painkillers (poor mama!) so my papa and I decided to take over dinner for the night. Now, since our kitchen is always well [over]stocked, it wasn't as much of a challenge as it usually is at school. But, since I made a drink for the both of us before we began (don't worry, recipe for that below), it became more challenging. Just a little.

We started throwing a bunch of things together (well, I did--he was really intent on making brussel sprouts, for some reason). We tried cooking quinoa and TVP (textured vegetable protein--great meat sub) in the same pot--that didn't really work out--we ended up with little quinoa grains in the filling but whatever. And then, the best feeling came over me. The feeling of pure spontaneity. Every time I tasted it, I thought of something new that would go well with it. And every time I announced it, my dad pinched my cheeks and said 'lik ana 7ebbo inti!!!!! ana I love cooking with you!!!' My cheeks were quite sore by the end.

By the time we were done, the original meal (TVP + kidney bean burritos) turned into Curried Indian-Style Burritos (at least that's the name I just came up with right now). They were really good. They even got mom-on-painkillers's approval! (although I feel like that wouldn't be difficult to get...)

As I said, I kind of just threw everything together, but cooking's all about improvising! I shook the spices into the mix so just shake until you find a taste you like (disclaimer: my dad and I love spicy foods).

"It's like a cross between Anna's and Punjab" -what my dad would've said if he knew the names of any restaurants around here

Curried Indian-Style Burritos
Ingredients

• 2 red onions, chopped
• 1 c TVP (textured vegetable protein, Bob's Red Mill makes it)
• 1 c canned pumpkin
• 1 15oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 c chopped walnuts
• 1 T mild curry paste (or more, to taste)
• feel free to add quinoa--that's what we had originally planned to do
• spices (we used cumin, curry powder, chili powder, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper)
• tortillas, curried salsa

Instructions

1. Cook TVP according to instructions (if you like, add a bouillon cube to the water)
2. Cook red onions in a bit of olive oil--once halfway cooked, add TVP, spices, and the curry paste and cook with onions.
3. Add pumpkin and mix together with TVP and onions. Cook on low heat.
4. Mix in kidney beans and add more spices to taste. Cook on low heat for a few more minutes.
5. Start heating up your tortillas on a skillet. Once mixture is done, spoon about 1/4-1/2 c (depending on the size of your tortillas/size you want your burrito) along the middle starting from about a quarter of the way down from the top. Fold it. I was lazy and just kinda messed around until the filling didn't fall out (it did about 5 seconds later).
6. Mix in some curry paste with the salsa if you want and drizzle onto or dip with burrito.

Now, this would not have been possible without my awesome cocktail-making skills. My dad's golden rule is "One drink an hour, with food," so while he's cooking, he'll usually indulge a bit. But since I/my dad had just painted my nails (see facebook photo) and couldn't open any of the food ingredients we were using, I was in charge of the nightly cocktail. The theme of the night, I was feeling adventurous. Also my dad had a huge Arab party on Friday and all the mixers/alcohol were gone. I had to improvise. So improvise I did. These are all approximations (except for the alcohol), so don't blame me if the drink is too strong or weak.

'Summer in March' Coconut Mojito (serves 2-3)

• 3oz. Malibu Rum
• 1oz. lime juice
• 2.5 T sugar
• 4oz. lime-flavored seltzer

1. Pour everything plus ice minus the seltzer into a cocktail shaker. I'm serious, do not put the seltzer in the shaker. It will go everywhere. (I am definitely speaking from experience).
2. Shake. Add seltzer. Drink. Eat burritos. Be merry. (get it?)

Recovery quote of the day--one of my favorites.

Song of the day--Milk and Honey by Hollie Cook

Okay, time for me to write an essay on Queen Noor. Enjoy the gorgeous day while it lasts!

-Carina

Donuts and a DIY Summer Dress

Donuts are awesome.

Whether from Dunkin Donuts or Tim Horton's, you just get this awesome satisfaction of indulgence. So 2 nights ago at around 3 AM when I was watching 2 Broke Girls and craving cupcakes, the craving started drifting towards donuts. Except our Dunkin Donuts isn't open that late, and I'm also usually too lazy to drive out and get one. So naturally, I started looking up donut recipes. And I found one. An awesome one.

I woke up yesterday morning (at 11, so early) psyched to make them. My mom and her friend that was over were equally psyched. So after I had my morning bowl(s) of 9 different mixes of cereal, I got to work so they'd be done in time for an early afternoon snack. I threw everything in a bowl, and after deeming the batter to be awesome, I piped them into the mini donut pan. Except I filled them up too much and some of the donuts ended up being donut-muffins. But whatever, still the same amount in all.

Anyway, here's the recipe. They go really fast.

"Man, I really want donuts." -me at 3 AM

Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Spiced Donuts
slightly adapted from Oh She Glows

Ingredients
Donuts

• 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 6 tbsp almond milk (I used unsweetened vanilla)
• 2/3 c canned pumpkin
• 2 T Stevia in the Raw (or sub sugar)
• 2 T sugar
• 1/4 c unsweetened cinnamon applesauce
• 2 T light brown sugar
• 1 T butter/Earth Balance, melted
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1.75 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp nutmeg)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 c all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c whole wheat flour

Cinnamon Sugar

• 2 T butter/Earth Balance, melted
• 1/4 c Stevia in the Raw
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease two mini donut pans or one regular sized donut pan.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar, milk, pumpkin, stevia, sugar, apple sauce, brown sugar, and melted butter.
3. Mix in the dry ingredients until combined.
4. Using a ziplock bag, spoon the batter into the bag and close it. Twist the bag slightly and then cut a hole at the corner to pipe out the batter. Pipe the dough around the circle and gently flatten down with slightly wet fingers to smooth. Repeat.
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350F. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then use a butter knife to remove them. Place on cooling rack for another 10 minutes.
6. Cinnamon Sugar: Melt butter in a small bowl and dip the cooled donuts in the butter one at a time. Transfer the dipped donut into a bag with the cinnamon sugar and shake until coated thoroughly. Donuts keep for 2 days.

Note: I didn't read the last step and I mixed all the cinnamon sugar ingredients together and then sprinkled them on top for a kind of streusel topping.

These are so light and fluffy; I wish I hadn't just eaten the last one.

So, if you've been residing in the Northeast this week, you may have noticed that we've been having extremely nice weather (which my mom says I should take advantage of to get some color). Of course, I only brought home winter clothing. So, I went thrift-store shopping and picked up a few long skirts to turn into dresses. I wore one of them today, perfect for a summer day and quite Lolita-esque (the 1997 version). My gram would've approved. It's really easy to make, no sewing required unless you want to hem it (which I didn't because...I don't know how to sew). Here's the tutorial, from A Pair and a Spare. She has other awesome tutorials on there--you should check them out! I made the metal neck cuff and belt the other day and really like wearing them.

I didn't make the halter straps because I prefer strapless things (also I didn't have anything to use as the strap). Just cut the skirt the length you want it to be and use the remaining fabric to wrap around your bust. I twisted it differently--I kind of kept wrapping it around the center part of my bra. Anyway, it's a really cute dress for summertime (or March...) and it's really easy! I like the style of the top--I'm realizing now that I can probably do it with a multitude of scarves and then just wear a black waist skirt for a more weather-appropriate color palate when it drops back down to 40 degrees again.

I got the skirt for $3 from Goodwill, can't beat that. I adjusted another $3 skirt I got from there and turned it into kind of a strapless maxi dress and then used the metal belt to style it. I'll post a picture soon.

Also, yesterday was my wonderful Grandma Helena's 90th birthday! She is such an amazing woman--born and raised in the Caribbean, youngest in a family of 11, first person from Trinidad to graduate from Johns Hopkins, biked around Europe at the age of 20, is a Tai-Chi master, practices kung fu in her spare time, knows the name of every single plant and flower, walks faster than I do, and, with my beloved Grandpa Amal, created an incredible and loving family that I am so proud to be a part of. I love you so much, Grandma! Can't wait to see you when you get back from Dubai. Thanks for sending some sunshine our way!

She's so cute. I love her. Always so fashionable and beautiful!

I'll leave you with the recovery quote of the day!

-Carina

DIY Earrings and Salade Cambodgienne

If there's one accessory I always wear, it's a pair of earrings. If I forget to put them in before running out the door, I will dash back to my house and be late for class so my ears don't feel so naked (I'm half-kidding). This started when my grandma (love you, midge!) got me a pair of gold dangly heart earrings when I was 4. I loved them so much that I did not take them out until the age of 12 (think of it more as an act of love rather than kinda gross-sounding). I remember bawling at my dad's office when his assistant told me I needed to take them out for an X-ray once. I still wear them several times a week, but I have since made room for other earrings, of all different shapes, colors, and sizes.


In fact, I love earrings so much that over spring break, I decided to jump on the DIY bandwagon (that means "Do-It-Yourself," Mama <3)! ....this probably isn't good news for my morning class.


Anyway, I went to Michael's last week, picked up some amateur supplies, and created a few pairs inspired by ones I'd seen on Pinterest. A few were also born due to frustration at not being able to replicate the ones on Pinterest.


I'll share three pairs with you today--the ones I've worn the most are below, inspired by these. I got annoyed with the jump rings, so I just decided to tie the chain into a knot in the middle. I kind of like it like that anyway.

These are fun earrings to wear during the day or at night, and super easy to make. I just used some gold wire (already shaped into hoops), little satin flowers (from Michael's), and gold chain.


These long earrings are great for a night out (although I don't discriminate during the day). These weren't really inspired by anything in particular--I just like dangly earrings.

Lastly, I made these two nights ago. I found this lavender lace-like blouse type thing (wow that is really vague) at Savers a few weeks back and decided I'd make accessories out of it. So I made earrings. They're super easy to make--just cut out whatever pattern you want, coat it in clear nail polish (to make it more sturdy), and then stick in the earwires. (Inspired by this tutorial).

In conclusion, if you like earrings, I highly recommend making your own once in a while--it's a lot cheaper, and you can customize them (obviously) pretty easily.


Now, onto the food!


On Sunday, I picked up my beautiful cousin Léa from the airport, and we dined at The Elephant Walk, a lovely French-Cambodian restaurant in Cambridge. I'd been there before with my parents and loved it (if you're not a vegetarian, I highly, highly recommend the Nataing). This time, though, I decided to go with the Salade Cambodgienne to start. The description was mouthwatering, especially since the dressing was tuk trey. And the salad lived up to its expectations! Who'd have known that the girl who refused to eat salad up until junior year of high school would willingly order one and enjoy it? (I feel like my mom says this about me a lot..) Anyway, I liked the salad so much that I was determined to make it at home. I searched for a recipe later that night and I found one pretty quickly, which was good because I fell asleep on my keyboard not a minute later.


My spring-break-partner-in-crime Anthony was finally back in town, so I called him up to see if he wanted to help me recreate this appetizer(-later-turned-main-course). He did. After a questionable trip to Whole Foods and a Swizzles run (omg obvi), we got to work. The salad proved to be very easy to make--even the dressing was fairly simple. We were feasting on the vegetables of our labors (get it?!?!??!?!? -____-) in no time. We were so proud, we even decided to pose with the food.

"Wow, those necklaces are very...interesting. I'm curious; why do you have them?" -Whole Foods employee

The salad got the Mom stamp of approval, so it's worthy enough to post here.

Salade Cambodgienne

slightly adapted from this convenient recipe.

Dressing

Ingredients

• 1/4 c water
• 1/4 c sugar
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1 small shallot, finely chopped
• 1/2 c Asian fish sauce
• 2 T lime juice
• 2 tsp salt

Instructions

1. In a small pot, bring the water to a boil. Add the sugar and cook over low heat, stirring until dissolved.
2. Stir in garlic and shallot and cook for 30 minutes on low. Stir occasionally.
3. Add the fish sauce, lime juice, and salt. Stir and set aside.

Salad

Ingredients

(The original recipe calls for chicken, but we decided to leave it out for various reasons)

• 1 head cabbage (about 2 pounds), shredded
• 2 carrots, shredded
• Note: It's also super easy to just get two 1 lb. bags of coleslaw and use that...that's what we did.
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 2/3 c mint leaves, finely chopped
• 1/2 c basil leaves, finely chopped
• 3 sprigs cilantro, finely chopped
• 2/3 c roasted, unsalted peanuts

Instructions

1. In a large salad bowl, toss the cabbage, carrots, onion, bell pepper, mint, basil, and 1/3 cup of the peanuts.
2. Add about half of the dressing and toss again.
3. Add the remaining 1/3 cup of peanuts, cilantro, and remaining half of dressing, and toss again. Serve.

This makes a lot of salad, but it was gone in a very short amount of time. It's really good. It looks pretty, too.

"Why did you make salad instead of real food" -a certain Kurban child

Alright, that's all for now. I'll probably be posting some old recipes soon, so if you have any requests, let me know!

-Carina

Feeling good-- click for the recovery quote of the day.