One of the benefits to being unemployed (although technically I have a part-time job doing graphic and web design) is that I am free to travel anywhere at at any time, for any duration. I had an amazing time in Colorado (8 days) in June, and on Monday I am leaving to go to Vietnam for a month. I was told not to drink non-bottled water or eat any of the ice over there, and not to buy food from vendors or cart pushers who come knocking on your door at night, all for good health and sanitary reasons. And to beware of thieves who will cut your purse from the bottom or side if you're not paying attention so that they can steal your cash or other belongings. And to slip a $5 or $10 in my passport to airport security so that I don't get charged taxes for bringing electronics into the country. And that it will be very hot and humid.
All of that aside, it should be a fun trip, and I'm pretty excited about it. The last time I went was when I was 7, and I don't remember much except for that I got food poisoning, tasted some exotic fruits, got bitten a lot by mosquitoes, didn't have access to a flushing toilet most of the time, and that everything was super cheap. All of these will probably hold true for my trip 17 years later, but I'm hoping that I will have some other, more memorable experiences as well. If Internet access is available and cheap or free, I'll try to post photos and/or stories. If not, I'll have to update my blog when I get back!
LIFE-CHANGING:
Thank you to Brent for linking me to such an amazing video. I hope you thought it was amazing, too.
The actual variation on sugar cookies from Baking Illustrated calls for lime zest, but I didn't have that. Excuse my non-flattering photo of the results:
1. Do not oversmoosh the cookies! I was zealous (smooshing cookies with the bottom of a glass is fun) but really, when they say flatten them to three-fourths of an inch thick, they mean it. My cookies were not as soft and chewy in the middle as I would have liked, and they pooled together as a result. I am definitely a cookie n00b.
2. Too much sugar. I loved the crinkly texture of the cookies on the outside that came from rolling them in sugar before smooshing and baking them, but the overall result was way too sweet for me. Next time, no sugar rolling for me.
Other than that, they were great. I loved the lemon zing, and the proportions of sugar, butter and vanilla were just right.
Every morning as of late, I have a hot, hearty bowl of deluxe oatmeal that takes 3 minutes to prepare. Here's how to start your day with an awesome breakfast that's healthy and delicious.
* Trader Joes and Quaker Oats make similar products:
...with the only noticeable difference in taste coming from the Trader Joe's brand having one less gram of sugar per packet than the Quaker Oats brand:
I can't believe I just posted about what I eat for breakfast. Um, I'll just categorize this under 'recipe' instead of 'mindless blather'...
