Banana's Foster

Alright so let's face it, I've never had banana's foster once in my life so tonight, I made an exception. Upside? I now have a new dessert to attempt to cook when I get home! Downside... the full stomach and the ughhh feeling.  Don't get me wrong it was totally worth it! Those sizzling, flaming, sugary bananas drizzled over vanilla ice cream made for both a warm and melty, lovely bunch of goodness!!

So what exactly is banana's foster? Well, it was originally created by Paul Blange at Brennan's a creole restaurant located in the French Quarter in New Orleans, Louisiana. Preparation of the dish usually involves a performance of a flambe (essentially setting it on fire). I was lucky enough to have the dish recreated in my college dining hall, I know right? Let me tell you, the chef did an awesome job preparing it right in front of me and he was even getting a two to three foot tall flame going! Anyway, if you'd like to try making this dessert at home here's the recipe. Oh, and it's your call on whether you choose to eat it as a delightful breakfast or a delectable dessert ;)

BANANAS FOSTER (recipe found here)


¼ cup (½ stick) butter

1 cup brown sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ cup banana liqueur

4 bananas, cut in half lengthwise, then halved

¼ cup dark rum

4 scoops vanilla ice cream

Combine the butter, sugar, and cinnamon in a flambé pan or skillet. Place the pan over low heat either on an alcohol burner or on top of the stove, and cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Stir in the banana liqueur, then place the bananas in the pan. When the banana sections soften and begin to brown, carefully add the rum. Continue to cook the sauce until the rum is hot, then tip the pan slightly to ignite the rum. When the flames subside, lift the bananas out of the pan and place four pieces over each portion of ice cream. Generously spoon warm sauce over the top of the ice cream and serve immediately.

Doesn't that sound delicious? Now I'm sure you can get creative here and design your own take on this dessert, so have fun. I have a feeling that even banana-haters will love this dish. I can't wait to re-create it myself when I'm home.

Remember: there's always room for dessert!

Stephanie, WWT

Movie Review - The Green Hornet

Originally I hadn't planned on seeing this movie, but a friend invited me and I desperately needed to get out of my room after two snow days in a row. I was actually pleasantly suprised and had a great night.


Now, I am a huge fan of superhero action movies, but I was going to pass on this one. I would never picture Seth Rogan playing the role of a fit, action hero, but he pulled it off really well.  His character, Britt Reid, aka the Green Hornet included some of the normal Seth Rogan attitude and humor, but was not obnoxious at all and gave the movie real character. As Britt simultaneously takes charge (somewhat) of his deceased father's newspaper company while fighting crime posing as a villain he learns some secrets behind his father's life.

A week or two before the movie premiered I was fortunate enough to catch some of the old Green Hornet shows on SyFy.  Yes, they're old by today's standards, but they were great in my opinion.  The movie version is updated and modern, and seemed like more of a comedy to me. I think it did the tv series justice.

And who can forget Kato, the amazing, genius, coffee making, kick-ass sidekick/partner? Every aspect of the movie including the magnificent Black Beauty, the evil villain Chudnovsky, played by Christoph Waltz, the cool, suave costumes, and action sequences make this a really enjoyable movie to see. Now I wouldn't nominate it for best picture, but it made my movie night worth it. Go see this movie if you want laughs, humor, and an all-around good time!

Stephanie, WWT

Brown Eggs vs. White Eggs: What's the Difference?

Apparently there is none besides the color. After doing some research online, I found out that white eggs come from chickens with white feathers (big surprise there) that also have white earlobes.  Brown eggs come from chickens with reddish feathers and red earlobes. I don't know about you, but I don't even think I've seen a chicken's earlobe before.

The reason you might see brown eggs being sold at a higher price is not based on nutritional value. It turns out that the breeds of chicken that produce brown eggs tend to eat more.


So don't worry that you're missing out on any special benefits by not eating brown eggs. There isn't a difference in taste or nutrition. What do you normally cook with? White or brown?

Stephanie, WWT

One Girl and Two Boys

This is a story about a girl. She moved away from home for four years in the hopes that a new place would bring fantastic new experiences. In some ways, she was right.

She quickly met two boys that were funny, nice, and everything you could ask for in a friend. The three became best friends.  They did everything together.  The girl would even walk all the way across campus to go see them every night because they were her friends.  As you might guess, she quickly found out that she liked one of the boys, a little bit more than just a friend. As she dropped subtle hints and wondered if he shared her feelings, she was oblivious to the second boy and his feelings toward her.

One night she admitted to the second boy that she liked the first, that she had liked him since she met him and didn't know what to do. She hoped to get some insight in the matter from the second boy, because he might know how the first felt about her. Instead she learned from the second boy that he had liked her since he met her. That he had sadly gotten over the crush and was now able to admit it.  She didn't know whether he was really over his feelings or not, but she felt in many ways horrible.  What signals had she given the second boy that suggested she had meant for their relationship to become more than friends?

She realized that he had been in the same situation she had all year long.  As she had wondered why the first boy never returned or made clear his affections for her, she hadn't been aware that the second boy was going through the same feelings about her.  She had just confessed her secret love of the first boy to the second boy whom she considered her friend and nothing more, unintentionally hurting his feelings.  The second boy seemed sad and told her that the first boy would never love her the way she wanted.

She never found out if the first boy whom she liked ever heard about the conversation she had with the second boy that night. She assumed that he had, but wasn't brave enough to confront her about it.

Now she still sees the boys every so often, but they never have fun or spend time together like they used to.  A courteous hello is all that is exchanged between the three. She remains alone now, left to wonder if her feelings got in the way of a perfect friendship.

(So if you couldn't tell this story was inspired by the falling out mentioned in the last post. I just needed to get that out!)

Stephanie, WWT

Loneliness

The reality of a 20 year old college student:
Many of us can think of a time when we have felt lonely in our lives. Whether you are ten years old or fifty years old, the feeling never gets any easier.  It may be for only a minute or two, or it may last for years. It seems to me that we reach points in our lives that seem as if we've taken a step backwards.  Why do you ask is a twenty year old college student writing about loneliness? What does she know! On the contrary, I've felt alone now for two years. And don't start accusing me of being dramatic just yet! I realize that my family loves me, but it's hard to be all the way across the country from the people who care about you the most.

Sure it was completely my decision to make the move to Pennsylvania to go to college, but I thought I would get a fresh start, which I did. It just didn't last...

My freshman year in college is what you might call typical of a college student nowadays.  I quickly made friends in my dorm, friends from orientation, and friends of other friends.  I was having fun every weekend and partying (yes I am guilty). Initially I started out with a group of about seven friends, but as others joined fraternities and sororities, our small group dwindled, which, I was actually quite happy about.  It brought me closer to the two guy-friends that I spent my entire year with. We were best friends, did everything together, even had movie nights every week. So why do I never talk to them anymore? I ask myself if our falling out after freshman year could have been prevented, but now I realize it was caused by a variety of things mainly, lack of communication, which frustrated me to no end.

Sophomore year changed. It didn't feel like it used to feel. It began with me becoming angry that they were late over thirty minutes for lunch.  It honestly wouldn't have bothered me if they had responded to my calls, texts, or messages, but when they finally showed up, a half hour later, they acted like nothing was wrong. It was no big deal and it was my job as a good friend to wait for them.  I guess after that, we really didn't hang out anymore. My sophomore year was filled with empty weekends and me pondering how it all changed so quickly.  Sure, I was still involved in a community service co-ed fraternity and played ice hockey on a club team, but I had really considered those two guys my friends. Now what would I do? A fellow player on my team assured me that I was just going through a Sophomore Slump. That this happened to her when she was in my year and it is completely normal. This gave me the slightest bit of reassurance.

I realized that I couldn't pick up the pieces of our old relationships and began to do things for me. I know how cheesy that sounds right? But it's true. I felt more confident and independent that I could do things completely on my own.  I took trips to Washington D.C. and Philadelphia by myself, something that my mother wasn't too fond of, but I did it anyway and I enjoyed it. Despite feeling that my life had changed for the worst, I knew I was still growing and learning as a person.

Now I sit here, in my dining hall, writing alone, blogging to no one about my lonely life. Sounds a little emo doesn't it? I'm not asking for pity or sympathy, simply trying to understand my life.  My junior year has been filled with much the same: lonely weekends, and meals alone.  The one thing that I want to slap myself for however is attempting once again to rekindle the dead friendship. Yes, I am guilty of being desperate.  In the first week of school I asked if either one of my "ex-friends" wanted to have dinner. One completely blew me off like a piece of lint, the other obliged, but brought along his friend (for company? I don't even know). Needless to say it was awkward and uncomfortable, and it is something that never happened again. My efforts to keep the friendship alive were never reciprocated.

I feel as if loneliness hits us all, and at the worst possible times. I realized last night, talking to my mom that if I died in my room, no one would find me for a month. She laughed and joked that I was lucky to have all of these friends. I asked her, what friends? Sure, I know people's faces and names, but that's all they remain to me are acquaintances. They are people who you can talk to about some common bond like class or sports, but at the end of the day, the most you would ever get out of them might be lunch, if they don't have any other plans.  They aren't people you can call and talk to if you need to, and you wouldn't hang out with them. I remain involved in my activities still and am planning a sightseeing trip to New York, but I do wish for friends to break this monotony of everyday life. I feel as if others see me now and feel sorry for me, which I don't want them to.

You can be lonely, but still be strong. That's what I try to tell myself.  I am the strongest most independent person I have ever been in all my twenty years of living... and I am alone.

Stephanie, WWT

Life In a Day

Many of us have heard of the Life in a Day production directed by Ridley Scott and Kevin MacDonald, but most importantly, by thousands of ordinary people out there that sent in film about their life in a single day. The instructions were to film anything that meant something to you throughout your day on July 24th, 2010.

The YouTube phenomenon has now been organized into a full length feature film that is premiering tonight at the Sundance Festival and on YouTube at 8pm EST. The film lasts for about 90 minutes and was cut down from over 4500 hours of footage from 80,000 different clips.

Sadly, my clips did not make it in, but it was still an interesting experience to participate in. I am interested to see how thousands of other people around the world went about their days like I did.  So if you're interested in watching too, tune in to YouTube tonight at 8pm and watch how the world experienced a single day.
Click here to go to the website and watch.

Enjoy life,

-Stephanie, WWT

TGFS - Thank God For Snowdays!

As most everyone has heard, the northeast has been blanketed with at least a foot of snow, two feet in some areas.  This weather is a lot even for residents who put up with shoveling snow year rouund, let alone for someone from California. As I recieved a text Wednesday morning at 8:30 informing me that classes were cancelled, I was relieved.  That meant four classes for me were cancelled, including a three hour night class.

That also meant that my 10:00 hockey practice was cancelled, what was I going to do? Needless to say I enjoyed the day, relaxed, did some reading, and watched some tv. You can imagine my surprise as I woke up this morning at 6:00am to the text that said all classes were once again cancelled today. Now, I love a snow day as much as everyone else, but two days in a row? Now it was getting tricky. I have a blood drive donation scheduled today, what happens to that? I also need to schedule some appointments and talk to some people about housing arrangements next year, but when all staff are also taking the day off, I am left wondering if I will ever get these problems resolved.

When do snow days become too much? Sure it's fun to interrupt your daily routine for a while, but for more than a day? I get to the point where it almost throws my entire schedule off.  It can be difficult to maintain plans and arrangements that have already been made. Snow days continue to be a surreal experience for me, growing up in California my entire k through 12 education, I only had one snow day that downed a tree on the road to my school in the mountains, and believe me, THAT was exciting.

Now, it seems like a nuisance. Tell me your thoughts, have you always grown up with snowdays or never had one in your lifetime? How many is too many in a row?
To all of the students out there, enjoy your snowday, unless it interrupts something important for you. In that case, we can only hope for the plows to work miracles.

Have fun!

Stephanie, WWT

The State of Our Union

I'm guessing that many of you tuned into watch the State of the Union address last night, unless you're a college student like me! Fortunately, my mother texted me last night to remind me to watch. I can't say it actually inspired me or piqued my interest about our country's issues sadly to say. The same buzz words were flying around and topics that have been brought to our attention in the past couple years once again dominated the speech. This graphic depicts the words frequently used in Obama's speech, the bigger words meaning they were used more frequently.

See the complete article here.

Healthcare, jobs, education, social security, Republicans vs. Democrats etc. We have heard all these things before and frankly, I wasn't enlightened as to how we will solve any of the current problems, or the ones we are facing in the near future. The main idea emphasized seemed to be innovation. To back his belief in the technological advancements of our country a powerpoint accompanied the speech and a high-tech website was created, seemingly just for this single speech at the White House State of the Union.

Of course the President addressed the absence of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords whose condition has recently been updated to 'Good.' Obama stated, "Tucson reminded us that no matter who we are or where we come from, each of us is a part of something greater – something more consequential than party or political preference. We are part of the American family."

This morning I reread the full transcript of the address which surprisingly seems more rousing on paper. Maybe the reason for this is the elimination of all that incessant clapping and standing between sentences. I think a speech loses its momentum a bit when after every other statement, the speaker is essentially, interrupted with a wave of applause. I realize this is a form of honor and appreciation, but personally, I wouldn't mind if attendees were restrained from clapping until the end of the speech. Then maybe they could have a ten minute long applause session.

Obama ended his speech on an inspiring note saying, "The idea of America endures. Our destiny remains our choice. And tonight, more than two centuries later, it is because of our people that our future is hopeful, our journey goes forward, and the state of our union is strong."

What are your ideas about the state of our Union? How about the clapping issue? Should people be allowed to constantly applaud during the speech? Which issues would you like to see further addressed?
You can read the entire speech here.

Comments and questions are always welcome, don't be shy! :)
Keep innovating America,

-Stephanie, WWT

What is American Cuisine?

I have managed to keep up with my blog twice in one week! Yay! We'll see how long that lasts...

Anyway, today got me thinking about food (naturally) and all of the diverse types of cuisine that we have here in America. I'm not necessarily talking about Panda Express and Pizza Hut kind of stuff, but real, authentic cuisine from countries all over the world. Maybe I notice it more where I live in California because my town contains families from all different backgrounds. It's a fact however, that I can choose from Thai, Vietnamese, Indian, Italian, and many more restaurants that exist within a mile radius of each other.

This begs the question, what surrounds the American culture in terms of cuisine? Sure, we have thousands of pizza places across the nation, many of them chain restaurants, but we attribute their food to the Italian culture. So naturally when we think American we think hamburgers, french fries, hotdogs - cheap things you can get at any sporting event.

I truly think that the beauty of American culture is that it is so diverse. We can't make up our mind as to whether we want Chinese, Japanese, or whatever food tonight for dinner. The multitude of choices available to us make us who we are. We have the opportunity to experience other cultures here (maybe not actually authentic foreign cuisine) even if it's just by ordering some tacos at a local chain establishment. The best thing about our culinary culture is that we have influences from everyone else. Every country has a place in our nation's foodie hotspots which in turn makes us more open and respectful to others in my opinion.

These new fusion type restaurants that attempt to blend cuisines from different cultures are a blessing to people who love to try new things like me. I don't know about everyone else, but I always go into a restaurant with a mindset that urges me to look for the most unique dish on the menu. So in honor of these pioneers that seek to bring people together with food, lets all go out there and try something unique!

Last week I was fortunate to try Yucca Root, not the most common thing found in the supermarkets. I was amazed at how normal it seemed. It reminded me of a potato, perfectly seasoned with simply salt, pepper, and cilantro. It is always a splendid surprise when we find something new that can spark our interests.

Let me know what new foods you have experimented with and tried! Or if anyone has some suggestions for a new food I can try please share! I'm always looking for new ingredients to incorporate into my cooking.

Chow down on diversity America,

Stephanie, WWT

New Year's Resolutions

So every new year the good old topic of resolutions comes up. We convince ourselves that with a new year comes a fresh start that will allow us to accomplish things that we just couldn't before, whether it was due to a lack of time, effort, or the determinedness to stick with something.

So how about it people? Does this year feel especially productive to you? I know a New Year's resolution that I would like to have, mainly keeping up this blog at LEAST once a week, despite the fact that nobody reads it...

Has anyone actually had any success stories with resolutions? I mean, like keeping up with them for an entire year? If you do please share, maybe it will give all of us a confidence boost if we know it's possible.

Feel free to comment (Be the first! lol) and share your resolutions and we can all help each other to stay on track!

Good Luck Everyone!
-Stephanie, WWT