Pet Peeve Wednesday

1.  I have a sinus infection or something else that makes me want to put my head in the freezer. Why do sinus infections exist?  Seriously.  I want answers.

2.  Last night I left out half a package of provolone cheese on my counter.  I don't know why I'm incapable of putting something back in the refrigerator and now I have NO cheese in the house.  This is a problem.  Homegirl wants some cheese.

3.  After finishing Buffy the Vampire Slayer about a month ago, no show can live up to it.  This means instead of joining everyone else in 2012, I binge watch BtVS on Netflix Instant and dream about overalls and fringe.

4.  This morning it took me ten minutes to realize that I was using the wrong burner to heat my tea.  After that, it took me another ten minutes to realize that I turned off the burner before I moved the kettle onto it.  Sometimes I wonder if my brain functions.

5.  I'm getting sick of hearing about all of this National Pancake Day stuff.  People--every day is National Pancake Day in the blogosphere.  Duh.

Chickpea Poppers

Hiya friends.  This is going to be a quick post because I'm a bit under the weather.  Just last week I was happily remarking to my parents that I hadn't gotten sick all school year.  Karma's a you-know-what.

This week I found myself in a food rut and wanted to make something different for dinner.  Earlier in the week I had cooked up some chickpeas (I used dried) and I started thinking up different ways I could use them.  These chickpea poppers are like healthier chicken nuggets.  They're fun to eat and nutritious to boot.  These were my dinner along with some curried cauliflower.  They'd be great as a party appetizer, too, though!

Chickpea Poppers

Ingredients:


1 cup chickpeas
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup breadcrumbs


Directions:


Preheat oven to 375


Combine all the ingredients in a food processor.  Process until all of the ingredients are mixed together. Make sure to not completely macerate the chickpeas--you want some texture.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, flipping halfway through.  Serve with your choice of dipping sauce.


Before I sign off, I want to do a quick little shout-out for my Aunt's blog.  She's doing a 40-day fast for Lent and is blogging about it over at Writing on Faith.  The posts are really interesting and she, of course, is awesome.  Make sure to stop by!

Oscars: Best Dressed

Did you all watch the Oscars last night?  I did!  The Oscars are one of my favorite times of the year.  It's seriously up there with national holidays for me.  I love the pomp and circumstance and how excited all of the actors are to be there.  It's like celebrity prom that we get to be all awesome and voyeuristic about.  What is there not to love?

One of my favorite parts of the show are all of the dresses.  I even love the ugly ones, if only for the mocking.  I want to share with you some of my favorite dresses from the night.  I thought over all the dresses were pretty fantastic, but I picked my top five to share!

Michelle Williams

Natalie Portman

Jessica Chastain

Emma Stone

Penelope Cruz (My Favorite of the Night!)

Did you guys watch the Oscars?  Who are your picks for best dressed??

Top 5 Fictional Boyfriends

Anyone who reads this blog regularly (or even stops by occasionally) knows that I watch a lot of television.  I once had a running total of eight shows that I was religiously watching.  It's a wonder I managed any actual social interaction.

Growing up, I used to always dream of dating the guys from my favorite shows.  I pretended I was going on badass missions with Vaughn from Alias or roughing it on a stranded island with Jack from Lost.  As I've gotten older, I haven't stopped falling for my fictional men.

Without further adieu, I bring you my top five fictional boyfriends.

Logan Huntzberger from Gilmore Girls

Oh, Logan Huntzberger.  He is he perfect combination of charm and wit with just a smidge of douchebag thrown in for good measure.  Pretty much the perfect man. 

The Doctor from Doctor Who

First off, check out that hair -- it is tousled perfection.  I absolutely love the Doctor in all of his regenerations, but Ten will always have a special place in my heart.  He wears snazzy pinstripe suits with Chucks, and it just WORKS.  Plus he has that nifty blue box that can travel anywhere in time and space.  

Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Before I started this show, I was a complete Angel girl.  I mean, David Boreanz is sexy (hello, Seeley Booth!) and this guy has peroxide hair.  What even?!  But then I actually watched the show and quickly switched to team Spike.  I mean, look at that face.  And those cheekbones.  Seriously.  What even?!

Fitzwilliam Darcy from BBC's Pride & Prejudice 

Yes, that is a wet Colin Firth.  You're welcome.  I firmly believe that no fictional boyfriend list is complete without Mr. Darcy.  So, here you go.

Seth Cohen from The O.C.

The male equivalent of adorkable, Seth Cohen is everything I would realistically want in a man.  He may not have a traveling telephone box like the Doctor or Logan Huntzberger's trust fund, but I bet you anything he could hold his own in a geek-off.  Plus, he has a sexy jew fro.

Who are your top fictional boyfriends?  

Chocolate Mug Cake

Yesterday, I did a bad thing.

I was sitting on my couch watching Ellen when I found myself really wanting something sweet.  Usually I ignore such cravings or shut them up with some frozen grapes.  This was different, though.  Ladies, it was one of those cravings and one of those times, and all I wanted was something warm and comforting.  Maybe some chocolate in there somewhere, too.

I remembered seeing a single serving mug cake on Pinterest.  Not five minutes later, I was standing in front of my microwave, unknowingly embarking on what I can only call a very dangerous journey.

Because, in less than two minutes I had a perfectly moist chocolate cake.

The opportunities for this are seemingly endless.  Cake studded with chocolate or butterscotch chips.  Red velvet.  Funfetti.  Carrot.  See what I did?  I've created a cake monster.

Chocolate Mug Cake

Ingredients:

4 tbsp flour

3 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 egg

3 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder

3 1/2 tbsp milk

splash vanilla extract

3 1/2 tbsp oil

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a large coffee mug.  Pour half into a container for later use.  Microwave for 1-1 1/2 minutes.  Add sprinkles, if desired.

And that's it, folks!  That easy!

Source: Kirbie's Cravings

Healthy Banana Oatmeal Bars

I often wonder how some people got into college.  I'll be sitting in class and someone will say something that makes me stare at them and think, "Were the admissions people high or did you just have a really good letter of recommendation?"

In my fiction writing class, I think this a lot.  My befuddlement is pushed even further as I begin to peer edit my classmate's pieces.  I realize that not everyone is eloquent; refined speech does not necessarily mean intelligence.  Nor does intelligence necessarily mean refined speech.  You'd think, though, that the people taking a fiction writing class would at least be fairly proficient in writing.

Wrong.

I thought this would be the case, until I spent thirty minutes yesterday trying to sort through a piece with so many grammatical and structural errors that I felt like I was reading something by a grade schooler.  The formatting was all wrong.  Misspellings were rampant.  And he practically threw Webster's dictionary to the wind by using words in any way he pleased--even if they made absolutely zero sense in context.

His poor piece looked like a Jackson Pollock when I was finished with it.

I'm not looking forward to when we discuss his piece, purely for the fact that I think we will be hard-pressed to find anything positive to discuss.  And we already had to deal with the creepy character sketch guy last week who proclaimed after our discussion, "I can write conflict.  I just wanted to do something different."

This, after our professor went on for no less than four weeks about how the root of all fiction is conflict.  Once again, how do some of these people get into college?!  Luckily, I have some delicious granola-bar-cookies to get me through awkward peer editing discussions.

(Like that transition there? It's clunky and effective!)

These can be made in either bar or cookie form.  I chose cookie because I am driven purely by laziness and didn't want to wash a baking dish.  Yes, I realize I am ridiculous.  The ingredients list is short and wholesome.  They're vegan.  They're tasty.  They're simple.  Need I give you any more reason to make them?

Banana Oatmeal Bars

Sorry for the awful photo -- but these are too delicious not to share!

Ingredients:

2 very ripe bananas

1/4 cup appleasauce

2 cups oats

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/2 cup coconut

dash of cinnamon

chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, mash the bananas.  Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until combined.  Scoop generous portions onto a prepared cookie sheet, pressing the dough into a flat disk.  Bake for 25 minutes, until the edged are slightly browned.

Serve with a smear of peanut butter for an added protein boost!

Source: A Modern Gal

Pet Peeve Wednesday

1.  People who wear sandals with socks --  If your feet are cold, just wear regular shoes.  There, problem solved and my eyes no longer have to be assaulted by the monstrosity on your feet.

2.  Creepy El guys -- Your leering at me from across the train car is really not working for you.  Neither is your trucker hat and molester moustache.  

3.  Showering -- Maybe this is just me, but does anyone else wish there was just some button you could press and you'd be all fresh and clean for the day?  You know, a magical button that washed and dried your hair, brushed your teeth and did everything else?  Yes?  No?  Do you think I'm insane yet?  Okay...moving on then.

4.  Judgmental Classmates -- You're probably reading this with an "Aren't you calling the kettle black?" expression.  Truth is, though, that I'm actually not this judgmental in real life.  I lack the cajones.  This one kid in my fiction writing class, though, does not.  He has a permanent pass to judgmental central; and let me tell you, sometimes I really want to kick him.  And by sometimes, I mean always.

5.  Non-Dessert People -- You don't like dessert?  I'm sorry.  I can't understand you.

What are some of your random pet peeves?  Let 'em loose in the comment section!