here is my College kid version of Zuppa di Tuscana:

Ingredients:

1/4 lb. HOT loose Breakfast sausage (the hot is more italian-y and hot is good)
1 large (ish) potato, cubed about 1"/ 2.5cm
1/4 lb of Kale (de-veined, and chopped roughly)
1 Average size Onion (yellow, sweet, preferable) chopped medium fine
2 gloves, or 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 carrot, medium chopped or thin rounds
1 tablespoon of fatty-oily ness (I used butter)
Crushed red pepper (to taste)
Black pepper (to taste)
3 cup water
1/2 half and half or Heavy cream (whichever is cheaper/you have)


Directions:

1. Throw your onions, garlic, and Oil/butter into the pot you plan to use to cook the soup on medium. Carmelized/softened.
2. Add the sausage, carrots, and your peppers. Brown the sausage. (takes about 5 minutes)
3. Throw in your potatoes, and cook a little to get some browning.
4. Add your water, and let boil cook for 5-8 minutes (for me) until the potatoes fall off a fork.
5. Bring it down to a simmer.
6. Add Kale, let cook for about 2 minutes.
7. Add Cream, and let simmer for about 3 minutes.
8. Serve warm.

Doria

Yesterday I made Zuppa Tuscana, and today I have another dish for you. DORIA.



Doria is essentially, a rice Au gratin like dish. It is served many different ways with different ingredients. But it has two main essential parts, rice and white sauce. The recipe I am using (and made up based on lots of others) is a shrimp, mushroom and veggie with a red sauce version.

For you whom have never been to Japan, you should know that Doria is the quintessential Japanese-ified Italian/French Food, almost the same as Pizza is to America. Italian or French, that is the big question with Doria, as I was explained to by a few of my Japanese friends. Some said it was a bastardization of the Au gratin with rice and therefore French, and other said it was actual an Italian Dish. An the restaurants of Japan was no help in this question either, as Family Restaurants, three French restaurants (I read the menus of , and the two Italian restaurants served it.

The Internet says both; it was an Italian Dish, which originated in Paris, France (there are so many in the US alone I thought to clarify) in an Italian restaurant. In the 1920’s (most sources say 1926) Doria entered Japan at the one of the most famous hotels in Japan the Yokohama New Grand Hotel, by a Swiss (though some sources say Swedish) chef as being French cuisine. Interesting history, doria has, either way on its birth culture, its biggest ground, like Pizza is not in its birthplace, but in a foreign land where it was thoroughly embraced.

What really matters is it is one of the most amazing yummy, hearty, sinful foods I ate in Japan, its right up there with omurice as my all-time favorite foods. I am so happy, that Gabe recommended we try it, because honestly, I doubt I would have ever tried it on my own; much less spend two hours, hunting down recipes to make my own version of this wonderful dish.

Today was both good and Bad. Good in that I got a lot done on my business essays: meeting my advisor for the last year, which I had never met, but seem to talk to about classes every two week; got research materials for the essays; clarified the topics. I even talked to the foreign language technical advisor and lab director at my University (I didn’t know we had such a person).

Sadly the one plan for today, which was to figure out and possible start my Japanese class makeup sessions for leaving Japan never happened, and won’t begin for a week and a half! Issues came up and my sensei won’t be available until then. Though I do get to start working on my Japanese reading and writing work!

NOW TO THE FOOD!

Emily’s A-Doria-able Doria
Serves 4 (Japanese) or 1-2 American guys that are starving!

Ingredients:

“Body”:
½ an Onion chopped finely
2 Mushrooms (or so) [ I used button]
½ a carrot, finely chopped (optional, I have lots of carrot)
2.5 cups of Cooked rice (can be pre-fried rice)
30-bite size shrimp, defrosted (mine were pre-cooked)
1 cup DRAINED chopped tomatoes, or tomato sauce

THE WHITE SAUCE:
1 cup half and half (or heavy cream if you have it)
1 egg
2 tablespoons butter
½ cup of cheese (if in Japan use “cheese” *you know what I mean*, outside I used mozzarella)

Topping:
½ cup of cheese (see above)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 F.

WHITE SAUCE:
1. Melt Butter in a sauce pan, until completely melted but not browning
2. In Bowl mixed half and half and the egg, mix well.
3. Add Egg mix to butter, and stir and stir and, oh yeah, STIR! For about 5 minutes until sauce thickens up.
4. Add Cheese and STIR some more, until the cheese totally melts into the sauce. Set aside but don’t let get cold.

BODY:
1. Fry the rice a bit if not already done so (I used left over fried rice from breakfast).
2. Sautéed onions, and carrots until soft but not caramelized.
3. Throw in mushrooms, and cook until mushrooms are done (3-5 minutes)
4. Add in rice, and stir for a minute. Set aside for assemble

ASSEMBLE:
1. Place rice in greased casserole dish or caste iron skillet (for best taste).
2. Place tomatoes or tomato sauce on top evenly.
3. Place white sauce evenly over the top of this.
4. Sprinkle cheese over top evenly.

Bake for 15 minutes at 350. Then for a yummy brown top, turn it up to broil until brown speckled.

Wait at least 5 minutes to serve. Eat. Enjoy. Laugh at the happiness.

Soul searching_ Japan One

Some days I get up and don’t know why I get up. Not like today sucks, why did I get up at all? But more of I open my eyes and I wonder why I get up. Actually I wake up maybe 75% of the time with this feeling. I know I have things to get done that day, but I wonder why I do them. I quit being a geologist because I could not see myself answering that question with anything in geology. I woke knowing every day that even as I told the world that I wanted/was going to be a geologist, it wasn’t a reason to get out of bed. As horrible as it sounds despite the fact that it sounds good to say “Today, I am going to find a way to save thousands of lives by figuring out how to better predict earthquakes/mudslide” or “Today is the day I am going to do *insert geology thingy* to figures out why Mars core died.”


For a really long time, I felt ashamed, because this is why I gave up a life- long dream, because in the few minutes of subconscious ruled thinking in my mornings my mind told me I didn’t really care, for what I was planning to do with my life. While rocks and theoretical people were great, I wanted to help people daily, the joy I found in helping a patron in the library, planning summer programs, or my favorite memories of work, making databases and planning schedules for other people, wasn’t quite as temporary as the fleeting pleasure of rocks. The more I look at the world and myself the more I begin to wonder if I want to be a planner of some sort. I get a thrill of joy in organization, planning, thinking plans through to the end, and looking at every possible consequence (save opening my mouth around friends, Sorry ya’ll.) My international business management class project last semester I really enjoyed I loved finding out tons of information about a company, locations, markets, and piling into a report. I like doing business research, it’s a thrill, and I can get up and say “Today, I am going to help X company/group, by figuring out their problem and/or giving them new ideas to expand their products/market/customer relations or whatever my specialty becomes.” Not sure if that means I will go become a consultant at a consulting firm, or maybe become a business/contract lawyer. While I still wake up not knowing exactly why I get up every morning, my mind is forming a vague cloud of thought wiggling its self from the back of my mind into reality. This thought is pleasant to the mind even if it’s not quite in focus yet, and it’s better than the blank that it has replaced.

I know some of you reading this have been worrying about me, as the once overwhelmingly driven Emily now is replaced by Emily, seeming to float by, not sure where she is going. While it worries me too some days, I think you should know I am happier in this state of unknowing. I don’t have a plan but I know what I want, which sadly despite all my planning before I didn’t know. Some of those, I ignored because they “weren’t in my nature” that now I realize was ever much in my nature but let others opinions of my abilities and strength, or even the nature of fate, over ride my own emotional, spiritual hopes and dreams. Some I didn’t even realize I had until I grew up. I want things the old plan would never have been able to deal with, so it would have been scraped anyways. The Plan never had children, but now I know I want them, and now I know when I get a stable job and place that I know I want to call home (city/area) that I will begin to work on adopting/fostering them. I want a home with fish and plants, not an empty apartment or house that I only see every few months and vague remember how its white walls are different from the hotels/ camps; I stayed in while I worked on assignment. I know I want coworkers that I love to see and work, I didn’t give before. I still want to travel for work but I don’t want a home that is equally or less appealing to live in than a hotel. Okay, maybe not the best proof of my earlier humanity and more likely shows how worthy I was of Litchy’s nickname for me, Stranger, I was, but it’s something I want, that is some much different from who I was before.

Not sure why I am reflecting on the changes the last few years have brought, maybe it Japan, or maybe its guilt. After all how many weird vague answers have I given you about why geology wasn’t good enough major and I chose to get a degree in something “everyone” gets like International business. Why I traded a 70, 000 starting salary for a mere 43, 000; why I chose something hard for me like Japanese over something easy like quantitative measurements. Why I study coding to modify databases to better fit my needs, over learning environmental stimulation programs. Why do willing spend seven hours studying for a management exam, but I could never find the energy to study 3 hours for Mineralogy. Why I can spend every free second in a week looking for more information about market entry for a small car company in the US, but I got annoyed if I had to spend three hours looking for a geology paper about the Cranberry Gneiss. I can’t explain it well, but it is who I am. And maybe that is why even though I don’t know why I get up most morning, getting up has gotten easier and more enjoyable for me over the last year. Good morning world.

The Beginning of the Second week....

SO its Monday February 7th... and I started classes today. I have been busy. I know I swore I would remember to write as often as physically possible. This trip is just acting for the moment like my last trip and being horrible busy every second of the day... well technically it hasn't but I wasn't feeling so great sunday. I will be posting my notes/comments on the earlier days when I didn't get to post online.

Pictures coming soon.

I'M LEAVING TOMORROW ...

Technically its 1 a.m. and therefore Thursday.

Just imagine me freaking out about doing my taxes, talking to the IRS, double checking my packing, packing up the last of the important stuff that can't go in until last minute (shampoo, conditioner, toothbrush, etc.). Oh and the evil of nature decided that things NEEDED to start today.

Yeah, flying on Friday is going to be so much fun. I need to write back my speaking partner, mage! She seems really nice. She likes good food, so we should be alright. I hope. *crosses fingers*

Yeah, I am going to sleep soon, I swear. As I have to be up and out the door in the morning to go to MK's dorm hangout, maybe talk her into taking me to class with her. (let's see what UNC-CH classes are like).

Well more likely the next post I will be in Japan. Talk to you then. Buy lovelies.

Let's try this again...

You all must be mentally wondering: WHY IS SHE ON her Blog writing when she has to be at the airport in a mere 5 hours?

The reason is because I don't have to... Yeah, I missed an obvious flaw in my reservations that was a small glinch... Januray 28th is not Wedneday....and no I did not misread the actual date. The Day of the week was messed up. So yeah, I leave friday, which is a relieve because I was thinking leaving Wednesday and not arriving until Saturday was wrong, and I swear I had orginally planned to leave on Friday...

So life it moves on. I leave Thursday at noon to be at UNC Chapel Hill and have my best friend and most AMAZING PERSON ever, MK drive me to the Airport at 4:30 in the morning. *Yeah she loves me like crazy for doing that I know*

Which is nice because I got a chance to get my haircut, and an extra two days to panic about perfect packing. Its so silly but packing my bags is the scariest thing about going to Japan. I feel silly. Though to be humorous my shoes choices are still (almost two years later) my weak-point in my packing. Do I carry by suede knee boots or not? Do I even waste time taking my sneakers that half the time pinch my toes, but are water proof?

Oh the decisions.

Six days and Counting...

I will not Panic!

I need to pack, study more, figure out what I am doing about shoes. Should I carry pillows? Or just buy cheap ones when I get there (which is the current plan).

Every little thing has me worried and at the same time I am all like cool and calm. Which is bizzare.

So yeah, six days. I need to do something to keep my mind off it. Woot.

Please keep up with me this semester.