Finally, some good news!

I just secured a phone interview for an incredibly perfect job at Widener University. It's with the Career Advising and Planning Services department, which is fantastic because I have a lot of experience in that area thanks to my Career Development internship. Luckily, I have also been speaking with the director of the office specifically, so I don't have any of the HR bureaucracy to muddle through. I hope this goes well because I can definitely see myself working in higher ed and doing something I already love to do-- design marketing campaigns, work with people trying to figure out their careers, etc. etc.

Chicken pot pie

Probably one of my top five favorite comfort foods. Living at home makes me crave comfortable things like no other-- guess it's because I've never truly been content or settled here. Anyway, here's my ingredient list:

Carrots, peas, celery, onion
Diced chicken breast
Little bit of flour
Low fat/sodium chicken broth
Half cup of 1% milk
One clove minced garlic
Thyme, rosemary, parsley
Pie crust (flour, salt, vinegar, shortening, etc.)
Egg wash (whole egg and a drop of milk)

It was a pretty easy assembly: sauteed the veggies and chicken, added the broth and flour to thicken it, stirred in the milk, poured the mixture into a baking dish and covered it with the pie crust. I brushed it with an egg wash and let it bake for like twenty minutes in a 400 degree oven until the crust was golden brown. Yum, that is happiness in a dish.

Muy delicioso!

Decided to try something new this evening and went to Salsa! for beef empanadas and yellow rice. I thought the meal was very delicious considering I've had my coworker Manuel's homemade empanadas and rice-- which are by far the best I have ever tried. The restaurant itself is very casual with only a few tables in the front and a bar style counter where you order your food. It was definitely renovated recently, as the flooring, ceiling tiles and counter tops look brand new. I'm not sure what what was in that space before, so it's hard to say if they just built everything from the bottom up. But for the most part, the food prices vary from $2.29 per empanada to $10.95 for a full meal which includes two sides and there is a wide variety of Puerto Rican dishes that would probably please anyone. Not quite sure what everything was on the menu since most of it was in Spanish, but I'm very excited to try it all.

Eggplant parmesan

In an effort to recreate my grandmother's eggplant parmesan recipe, I learned just how much time it took her to cook this dish. From start to finish, it took me nearly two hours to make. Eep. I suppose I could just be a slow cooker-- since I took the time to make my red sauce, cook the eggplant and then letting the dish bake in the oven. Anyway, I didn't get a picture of the finished product before I dug in, but it was lovely looking-- all cheesy and delicious. This recipe made about four servings and all measurements are, of course, estimates.

2 medium sized eggplants
Handful of breadcrumbs
3/4 cup of flour
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup milk
2 cloves of garlic
14 oz. can of dicd tomatoes
Some olive oil
1/4 cup diced onion
Parmesan and mozzarella cheese
Basil, parsley, thyme, oregano, salt, pepper

Started my red sauce by sauteing the onion in the olive oil and then added the garlic when they started to become opaque. Once I started to smell the garlic, I added the canned tomatoes and seasonings and let that simmer as I prepared the eggplant. My grandmother used to soak the eggplant slices (I cut them about 1/2 thick) in a salt water brine for a few hours before she made her parm, so I did as well. After drying off the slices, I coated them in flour, dipped them in the egg and milk mixture, dredged them in the breadcrumbs and then fried them in a little more olive oil. Once they were done, they were placed on a wire rack to get rid of the excess oil and then layered in a baking dish with my red sauce and topped with parmesan and mozzarella cheese. About 35-45 minutes in a 350 degree over and the cheese was bubbly and golden brown. I think my grandma would be proud.

Note: I was mostly inspired to make this dish because when I was in PA this week with Jason, I bought the eggplant from an Amish lady at her side-of-the-road farm stand. Good times.

Vacations are always too short.

After a wonderful week in Maryland and Pennsylvania, I am now back home. I started off my trip with an afternoon in Gettysburg visiting my sorority sisters and enjoying some lunch at The Pub. It was great to spend time with them after being apart for a few months. Although, most of them are still in school and getting ready to start their senior year, it was especially nice to see Madeline and Eli, who graduated with me in May. We seem to be feeling and experiencing the same post-grad obstacles that this economy has created. I also visited with my seminar professor, who has put me in touch with an alumnus who works in public relations. Even if he can't offer me a job, it's nice to know someone else is out that that could keep an eye out for me.

Jason and I left Gettysburg that afternoon to head down to Maryland to stay with his sister for the weekend. On Saturday, we decided to go to Annapolis, MD for the day. I had never been there, so I was excited to explore a new city. The downtown area was absolutely adorable-- there were a number of small boutiques, historic sites and expensive, but delicious restaurants. Even though we were there for the afternoon, we were able to take a lovely harbor cruise around the Bay and the Naval Academy. It was much nicer on the breezy deck of the Harbor Queen since the weather was so oppressively hot and humid. I took around fifty pictures on our 40-minute cruise, so I think I went a little picture happy.

On Sunday, J and I went to our friends engagement party. It was a small gathering of 23 people consisting mostly of Gettysburg kids and Dave's family. We ate at a nice Italian restaurant (family style, of course) which included a menu of garlic bread, caesar salad, spaghetti and meatballs and cheese raviolis-- very tasty. It was nice to see everyone and to catch up, but I felt a little melancholy after we left the restaurant. I miss going to class, learning new things and participating in activities and sports-- I miss challenging myself. When I'm at home, the most challenging part of my day is choosing which new recipe should I try and what television show I should watch before bed. That isn't the life I wanted after graduation and despite my best efforts, I haven't been able to achieve much more than that. My job search commenced way back in March and amazingly, people who only started looking for a job after May 16 are already employed. How is that fair?

Anyway, the rest of my week was spent at J's beating him in mini-golf (haha), going out to eat, playing tennis, and spending time with his friends and some of mine. It was a great getaway and I can hardly wait until he comes to New York in a week or so.

Life is a movement.

And now I feel like I'm moving. So, I am off to Pennsylvania, Maryland and everywhere in between. See you next week.

Broccoli and cheddar cheese quiche

Usually when I have to work the closing shift at night, I make my dinner beforehand so I'm no starving when I get there. This morning I made a broccoli and cheddar cheese quiche-- one of my favorite comfort foods!


I started out with, admittedly, two 9 inch frozen pie crusts (since I was too lazy to roll out my own) and added my mixture of seven eggs, one cup milk, 3/4 cup grated Vermont cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup chopped onion, one cup chopped cooked broccoli, and a pinch of salt and pepper. All of those measurements are estimates because I never measure when I cook! That might also be due to laziness, but I usually prefer eyeballing things. After about 40-45 minutes in a 350 degree oven, both quiches were golden brown and delicious! I will definitely enjoy this later before I have to go to work.