Farewell, Ireland

I'm kind of overflowing with emotions at the moment, so please excuse me if I'm being incoherent. I can't believe it's over. This time tomorrow I'll be in the car with my mom, incredibly jet-lagged but so happy to be home. My dog will probably get so excited that she'll pee all over herself (and me). Honestly, I'm okay with that.

This experience was so much more fulfilling than I expected. I didn't think I'd make real friends, but just hoped that I'd meet people tolerable enough to travel with so I didn't have to be by myself. I was so wrong. I'm a pretty reserved person most of the time, so...it's rare that I meet people that I click with so fast. And as lucky as I am to have stumbled upon these fantastic relationships, it makes saying goodbye really, really hard. Yesterday I spent a good 30 minutes sobbing uncontrollably. I haven't cried like that in years. But I guess I'm happy I have something so special that it makes me cry.

I don't like to say goodbye because it has such an air of finality to it. And I can't handle that. So I prefer to simply say "talk to you later", or something of that nature. Of course I'll see them again. I'm making it a priority. It's too easy to lose contact but I cannot let that happen. They are far too important to me.

Love you guys.

Peanut Butter Pie

Of course the weather gets nice when finals time comes around and I have to buckle down and study. I can't complain too much though. The workload compared to my classes at home is significantly lighter. Adjusting back may be a little bit rough. But still, I want to be outside! I...have less than two weeks before I go back to the US. Wow. That just hit me. But you can understand that I want to spend that precious little time as wisely as I can. 

As far as I know, these cookies have no bourbon in them.

Spending that time wisely doesn't necessarily mean going on elaborate adventures all the time (though those are nice too). It can mean simply cherishing the moments you have with friends who you likely will not see again for a long time. Sad truths. Aw. Now I've lost my train of thought. Point I was trying to make is to enjoy what you have while you still can. 

Making whipped cream in a jar is not as hard as I expected.

Tying into that nicely is Peanut Butter Pie. I don't think I will ever be able to separate them from this. Almost two years ago Jennifer Perillo lost her husband suddenly and unexpectedly. In a gesture both beautiful and heartbreaking, she asked bloggers to make his favorite dessert, peanut butter pie. So to me, it will always be this food filled with love. And making it was a labor of love; I did everything by hand, from whipping the cream to crushing the cookies for the crust. As usual, sharing it, just taking a moment to sit back and enjoy with my friends, was the best part. 

Peanut Butter Pie

8 oz cream cheese
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 - 3/4 cups milk 
16 ounces heavy cream

(My crust was really thick, but I like it that way. Adjust accordingly)
24 chocolate sandwich cookies
1/4 melted butter

Crush cookies finely. Place in pie tin (or, like me, a 7x10 rectangle. Work with what you have.) Pour butter over the crumbs and stir until crumbs are evenly moistened. I took some crumbs and saved them for sprinkling on the top. Your call. Pat down into a dense layer with the back of a spoon, your hands, a cup, whatever. Set aside. 

Beat together cream cheese and confectioners' sugar. Mix in peanut butter and milk. Beat until smooth. Fold in whipped cream. Spoon onto crust. Top with reserved crumbs if you wish. Freeze until firm.

Barcelona: To My Parents.

Sorry again for the short gap in posts. Last week was brutal, but things should return to normal now. I just returned from a wonderful trip to Barcelona, and I have something I'd like to say...

Thank you, mom and dad, for giving me the world. Without your love and support, I have no idea where I would be. Thank you for giving me the chance to travel for a whole semester, though it means maybe you won't get to take a trip of your own. Thank you for making sacrifices for me, for continuing to help me over the years even when I take it for granted (which is too often). I'm so incredibly grateful for everything you have done for me, and I have no idea how to convey that. No matter how heartfelt my words, or how artistic my pictures may be, it can't replace the experience of actually having you here. I try my best but it's just not adequate. But I'll keep trying anyway. Come and experience with me. 

You would have loved the Parc Güell. Huge gardens intermingled with the bizarre and whimsical architecture of Gaudi. It was originally supposed to be a housing site, but no one really expressed interest in living there. Only Gaudi and his family ever resided in the park. A wonderful place to take a walk and slow down for a while.

Casa Batlló

 

The Sagrada Família is absolutely stunning and unlike any other church I've ever seen. Makes you just kind of want to lie on the floor and stare up for a while. I don't think I fully appreciated it when I was here five years ago. So much has changed!

I know you have a soft spot for sangria, dad, so you would have enjoyed this immensely. Sangria was everywhere in Barcelona, in varying degrees of quality, from something like the above picture with slices of lemon and orange in it, to this rather disgusting convenience store variety purchased for less than two euros.

 

Black pasta! Garlicky cuttlefish goodness.

Fresh coconut and pitahaya (dragon fruit) juice from La Boqueria

Mom, you would have loved La Boqueria. I could have spent hours wandering through, looking at all the amazing fruits and vegetables, chocolates, marzipans...the list goes on.

Spanish tortilla sandwich! So delicious <3

Tapas! Croquettes, patatas bravas, and sausages!

Mm, paella. That rice. So good. 

 

 

And of course, the beach. I know how much you like walks on the beach. And I do too, even if I did squirm and complain as a child. 


Someday, I'm going to give back to you. I promise.

Peanut Butter Fudge

Oy. Somehow I have three papers due by the end of the week. So much stress! I need to not freak out. But I'm so good at it. I used to be better. Which is not a good thing, being a pro at anxiety. It's been a long time since I cried because I was so overwhelmed by work. And I am not about to let that happen again.

Do not trust them when they say it is American Style. It is not,

When I was younger, as young as like, nine years old, I always had something to worry about. if I wasn't worrying, that was also a cause for worry, because it might have meant that I was forgetting something that I was supposed to be worrying about. But as a consequence I always did really, really well in school. Because not being the best at everything was another reason to worry. I avoided competition and team activities because of how much I worried about losing. Relying on other people was too much of a risk, for them and for me. Yeah, I am aware that isn't a very healthy mentality to have.

Is it worth it to sacrifice my sanity? No way. I learn in college to let go of some of my control issues. Not all of them (it's a work in progress). So I have to figure out how to strike a balance between uh, happiness and having friends and being a normal, functioning human being without feeling like I'm neglecting my work. Sometimes I don't know how to do that. Sometimes stress baking helps, and it helps a lot when it's something you can make in five minutes. Sometimes boiling sugar makes you feel more alive. Hooray for peanut butter fudge! 

If all else fails, you can just listen to this guy over and over again. 

Peanut Butter Fudge

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup peanut butter

 

Put sugar and milk in pan and bring to a boil. Boil two and a half minutes. Remove from heat and add peanut butter and vanilla. Stir just until mixed well.Pour into greased pan (the smaller the pan, the thicker the fudge will be. And 8x8 is pretty good). Cool and cut.
 

Clementine Beef

I haven't eaten or made anything especially interesting up until now, which is going to be my excuse for the lack of posting. I feel that I've been doing more impromptu socializing lately, which leaves less time for cooking elaborate things. And sleeping. But it's worth it to have those late night conversations, to visit somewhere new, do some wandering. 

I bought a bag of clementines recently. Clementines are my winter/spring fruit that I eat obsessively (apples being the fall fruit and my true love, peaches, being the summer fruit). I usually have no issues eating all of them almost immediately, but this batch, for some reason, ended up being incredibly difficult to peel. So they sat in my room for a while, me glaring at them occasionally, willing their peels off. Hasn't worked out so far. 

 Since I've eaten all my lemon curd (don't judge), I decided to try my hand at a batch of clementine curd, which turned out very nice, but I still had too many clementines on hand. Unless someone felt like peeling them for me, I was not going to eat them. So I browsed and brainstormed. How else can I use these? And I came across a recipe for clementine beef! The juice and zest is combined with honey and soy sauce, the sweetness balanced out by the kick of chili flakes. You'll definitely enjoy this if you're a fan of orange beef. 

Clementine Beef
adapted slightly from daisy's world 

3 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 1/2 pounds tri-tip, skirt or flank steak, cut in thin strips on the bias
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce (I ended up using YR Sauce, which is quite similar to Worcester Sauce)
 2 tablespoons honey
1/2 tsp crushed chili flakes
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
1/3 cup freshly squeezed clementine juice 2 clementines, for zest
3 to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, as needed
3-5 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, finely minced
1 6-ounce bag baby spinach
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the lite soy sauce and cornstarch. Add beef strips and mix well. Cover and let stand for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

To make the sauce, whisk the  hoisin, honey,  red pepper flakes, soy sauce, clementine juice, and the zest of one clementine until completely combined. Set aside.
In large pan or wok, heat oil on high and brown beef in small batches, making sure not to crowd the pan. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beef to a platter. Set aside.
Add more oil in the pan, if necessary. Add the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the sauce mixture and cook until reduced and thickened, about 5-7 minutes. Add all the beef back into the pan and cook for about 1 minute. Add spinach (or other vegetables) and cook just until spinach is incorporated and beef is heated through. Season with freshly cracked black pepper.
Garnish with more clementine zest. Serve immediately with steamed rice.