still dalloway

Kitchri fail

elerz — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 03:25:49 GMT

So today I tried to make one of my Safta's recipes, a rice and lentil dish called Kitchri.

The recipe she gave me:

1 cup rice
1 cup lentils
2.5 cups of water
1 tablespoon tomato paste
some cumin and garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper

and when all that is done cooking, 1/2 stick of butter melted on top.

All this went into a pan and boiled, but when all the water boiled off (I turned the heat down from high to medium/low (or what I imagine is medium/low based on flame size on my stove) the rice and lentils weren't cooked and nothing tasted tomato-y at all, so I added another 1.5 cups water and 1 teaspoon tomato paste. and more garlic and cumin.

After the water boiled off this time it was all cooked (maybe a little too cooked) but there was no flavor. I'm not sure what I could have done to make it better, and though my safta is probably already awake, calling her now would wake up my parents and brothers (who are in Israel right now too) and I should probably wait until tomorrow morning EST to call.

Until then, any suggestions? I ate some for dinner with a lot of cheese mixed in, and i really want to try again . . but I have so many leftovers to eat first! I should have started with half the recipe. . . oy!

elerz — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 22:52:16 GMT

Good cheap external hard-drives. . . go?

I'm looking for something where I can back up all of the stuff on my laptop because I don't trust it to not fall apart over the course of the next year. Asked for this for my birthday, actually, but I don't know that I trust it to work through the end of September either.

So . . . who has them? What kind? Where do you find them? Is the internet a good idea? Is something like Best Buy a better bet?

Does it matter what kind of computer I have? If so, it's a Dell.

elerz — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 14:48:34 GMT

warning: second edit in this post is a little gross.

i set my alarm for 9 this morning, despite having gone to bed a little after 2 last night, intent on waking up, showering, and going to shul. a little while before 9 a fly woke me up. no, seriously. this fly is so loud that i can hear it flying on the other side of my (fairly large) Parsons double. it kept flying to the windows, which i've kept closed because they have no screen and i don't want bugs flying in (but there are some in my room every day). ok, so, clearly the solution is to open the window and get it to fly out, right? this literally took an hour of sending it flying back and forth across the room and, a little after ten, it finally got back out. in the meantime, i had decided that i was too tired for shul and would take a nap. not even two minutes later, i hear this fly buzzing again, but the window is still closed. so clearly, there's a way in. wonderful. and it's right by my bed. even better.
anyway, after another half hour of fighting with this thing, it finally flew out the window again. and, of course, flew right back in through whatever opening it has found less than a minute later.and it's still on the window, buzzing away and keeping me up.

seriously? i so don't approve. and am considering moving my bed.

[edit] i seriously don't know what to do with this anymore. it turns out that every time i get rid of one another comes in. not even kidding. got one to fly out the door (sorry parsons) and another came in. caught number 2 in a water bottle and oh, there's number three. WHAT IS THIS?!

[edit #2, 6:56 pm] started killing the flies. am at dead fly #6 and #7 is already flying around. one exploded and lots of unborn fly larvae came out and wiggled around. i have not been this grossed out in a really, really, really, really long time.

elerz — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:37:33 GMT

I'll be back in London in fewer than 24 hours. This past month, unlike the first one, has passed by really quickly. Wow.

Today I went back to many of my favorite places: I took the RER to St. Michel and walked around Rue de la Hauchette, and picked up a chicken, mayo, veggie baguette for "only" 3,60. Then I crossed to L'ile de la Cite and L'ile St.-Louis, to get to Rue de Rosiers, where the Jewish bakeries and falafel places are. Afterwards, back to the St. Paul area to look at bakeries one more time with Sarah (they're just so good), and then along the Seine until Notre Dame, inside (i find something new that I didn't see before every time I go in. It's just beautiful), back to Rue de la Hauchette for Nutella flavored gelato (that might be my new favorite ice cream flavor. I wonder if Herrells would make it . . .), and one more walk along the Seine, past Pont-Neuf, and back to Les Halles to catch the RER home. I got back 25 minutes before the bus, so I got to walk around the gardens by the castle here one more time, too. And it was sunny and warm today and just wonderful.

And now packing. What the hell did I do with my Oyster card??

elerz — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 18:34:47 GMT

hamentaschen recipe please? anyone have a good one? preferably by. . .oh . . . tonight or tomorrow morning?

thank you so so so much!

elerz — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 15:29:31 GMT

tell me a story? any story . . . about your day, about life. made up or real. please? i'd love to hear from anyone who reads this.

and if you'd like something in return leave your e-mail address, and i will do my best to send something fun.

love actually is all around us

elerz — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 04:05:20 GMT

my friends just came into my room with the sweetest card ever and a pint of Herrell's ice cream.
have i mentioned that I love Chapin?
they'll even help me carry the fridge downstairs :).

elerz — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 03:45:46 GMT

i would really, really like to have next semester figured out. a lot.

elerz — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 00:08:23 GMT

Israel:

family lovely but ill. rather lonely. pretty here. counting down days 'til home next sunday after midnight (ok, monday) and also feeling like i don't have enough time left here.

interesting. 3 in the morning, though, and thus bed time

elerz — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 02:39:41 GMT

dear summer,

you are so long.

love,
yael

dear plane ride,

you come too soon.

love,
yael

elerz — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 03:55:37 GMT

EWWWW.

COCKROACH

IN. MY. ROOM.

SO. SCARY.

IN MY TRASHCAN.

NOT NEAR A WALL
HOW DID IT GET THERE??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

EWWWW.

We have always had spiders wandering around, but never ever ever cockroaches.

EWWWW.

What if there are more? How did it get all the way to the IN THE MIDDLE OF MY ROOM??!?!?

Also, I don't know what to do with it. No one braver than I am (or in general) is home right now.

I took the trashcan to the bathroom, stuffed a (mostly encased in plastic) pack of toilet paper rolls on top (to keep it in? I know, probs won't work and will make using said toilet paper perhaps no good. ok, so, dumb idea in retrospect) and closed the door. because it is WAY TOO GROSS AND SCARY.

WHAT TO DO??!!?!?!

elerz — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 15:38:11 GMT

drove the car alone for the first time. today dad drove behind me the whole way. monday i'm on my own. . .

elerz — Fri, 16 May 2008 01:59:05 GMT

dear approaching middle-age alums having a loud party on the second floor,

you are wonderful.

and you make me excited about reunion that many years down the line.

thanks,

yael

elerz — Thu, 08 May 2008 00:27:26 GMT

never ever ever gonna be done never ever. :(

elerz — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 09:24:41 GMT

i actually really like watching the sun start to rise before i go to bed.

stayed up late just hanging out with friends. it was nice. i am not disappointed.

and there's something nice about the fact that it's already getting lighter.

give me a way to procrastinate over break? please

elerz — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 22:59:05 GMT

this has been going around and i thought it might be a fun thing to do while i was home for a week.

Everyone has things they blog about. Everyone has things they don't blog about. Challenge me out of my comfort zone by telling me something I don't blog about, but you'd like to hear about, and I'll write a post about it. Ask for anything: latest movie watched, last book read,political leanings, favorite type of underwear etc. Repost this challenge in your own blog if you want to!

because even five year olds know what h-a-t-e means

elerz — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 07:04:37 GMT

i a-b-h-o-r writing papers.

seriously, nytimes?

elerz — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 23:11:56 GMT

seriously? i feel like this is a scurvey (april fools edition) article one of us wrote senior year. especially the first few paragraphs.

By JUDY BATTISTA

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — A clutch of reporters stood at his locker, beginning the long, lonely vigil for the quarterback who never appeared.

Tom Brady, whose strolls around Manhattan with and without a walking boot set off a firestorm Monday as he was visiting his girlfriend, the Brazilian model Gisele Bündchen, he was nowhere to be seen Thursday when the Patriots began preparations for Super Bowl XLII against the Giants.

Brady remained out of sight during the 45 minutes that reporters were allowed in the New England Patriots’ locker room. There was no sign of the walking boot in Brady’s locker, only an ominously named box of protein bars — Detour.

Brady was not present at the beginning of practice, when reporters were allowed to watch the first 10 minutes, which included stretching and a few positional drills. Brady could have appeared later, or not at all, and the mystery was only likely to deepen until the Patriots land in Arizona on Sunday night. That is when Brady is scheduled to speak to reporters for the first time since his footwear became front-page news.

Brady was wearing the boot for what was believed to be a mild high-ankle sprain as he arrived at Bündchen’s West Village home carrying flowers Monday. Later that evening, he was in street shoes when he and Bündchen went out for dinner.

The Patriots are famously cagey about injuries. Brady has been listed as probable on the injury report since the opener of the 2003 season for a right shoulder injury, which did not seem to bother him as he threw for a record 50 touchdowns and was named the league’s most valuable player this season. The Super Bowl teams are not obligated by the N.F.L. to deliver their first injury report until Wednesday.

Coach Bill Belichick declined Thursday to comment on Brady’s health and, with a smile, said he did not even know if Brady would practice.

“The injury report will be out next Wednesday, and we’re excited to get that to you,” Belichick said, provoking laughter from reporters. “Filled out completely, and I can’t wait to get that to you because I know you’re anxious for it.”

The last time Brady spoke publicly, on his regularly scheduled radio appearance Monday morning, he did not deny that he had been hurt, but he played down the severity of it. And it is hard to believe that Brady would have eschewed days of treatment in Foxborough in favor of shopping in SoHo with a serious injury. Still, his movements were tracked with stunning specificity this week. The New York Post reported that Brady and Bündchen ordered takeout Mexican food for dinner Tuesday night and had Chinese food for lunch Wednesday, before Brady departed for Massachusetts.

His teammates were amused by the spectacle of Brady walking around the opponent’s hometown, but they did not seem worried about his being able to play.

Running back Kevin Faulk has worn a boot in the past, and attracted little notice. “Because I’m not Tom Brady, I guess,” Faulk said.

Linebacker Adalius Thomas said: “I don’t know anything about a boot, a cup or a shoe. Or slippers. I don’t know. His slippers cost more than my shoes.”

Fullback Heath Evans vowed to don a boot “and see if you follow me around.”

That seemed about as likely as Brady, who has started 126 consecutive games, third most for active N.F.L. quarterbacks behind Brett Favre and Peyton Manning, missing the Super Bowl. Brady sustained a bad ankle injury in the 2002 American Football Conference championship game, forcing Drew Bledsoe to finish up. Brady returned a week later — there was no bye week before the game that season — to lead the Patriots to their first Super Bowl victory.

Since then, Brady has worked assiduously to add muscle to stave off the wear and tear of the game. Teammates talk in awe about how Brady works out as much as linemen do, especially in the off-season. That, combined with Brady’s ability to block out the trappings of his celebrity when it is time for work, make it seem unlikely that his performance will be undermined by this latest potential distraction.

“I think Tom’s one of the toughest players on our team both mentally and physically,” Belichick said. “He works hard. He’s very calm. He’s a great competitor, but he’s very calm.”

In the end, Brady’s star turn with the paparazzi may go down as the most obvious example of how the Patriots’ fortunes have changed since they were the scrappy two-touchdown underdog to the St. Louis Rams in that 2002 Super Bowl, the last time Brady’s ankle was in the news.

“Every channel I turned to, there it was,” Patriots defensive lineman Richard Seymour said. “Focused on the boot. I focused on the flowers.”

i'm just updating all the time, now. this is ridiculous

elerz — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 07:03:37 GMT

taking three ivrit grammar classes over break--one yesterday, one on tuesday, and one next sunday before i leave. am doing my homework now, and though i know what the answers often sound like, i can't spell them at all (which means, for the record, that i'm not actually learning the grammar--just using the fact that i know the words). i just tried to use "ayin, vav, alef, hey" to convey a sound that probs only needed one or maybe two of those letters. fuck.

don't think i'll post again before '08. i hope you all have a safe, fun/relaxing new year's eve, and a (sweet and) wonderful new year. ♥

heading home in 5 or so hours. . .

elerz — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 10:54:59 GMT

i have been (still) awake at this time for 4 of the past 5 nights . . .

i'm not quite sure what i'm going to do with myself when i'm home and have nothing better to do at five in the morning than actually sleep.

but for now? i can. . . shower. or pack some more! or . . .

smithies: have a wonderful break-and-j-term! i can't wait to see you all again! a month is a long time. . .

in which this really needs to stop being a daily activity

elerz — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 13:07:11 GMT

i'm really nervous about joel's final (which i think i'm going to take in 56 minutes after all, so that i can go to bed after), but at least i won't end up stuck in an oak tree like absalom. speared by joab. ha.

and finally managed to make the link to israeli radio work. YESSSS.

after this, one exam left.

i just hope that i know. . . the right names.

elerz — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 10:08:30 GMT

and, on a different note, minus a quick break to call psafety about doors that sketchily wouldn't close, connie and i have been in the dining room for the past 3.5 hours listening first to the spice girls, then to the backstreet boys, and now to christina aguilera's first cd. hot stuff. i swear that this paper will be done within the next 45 minutes. regardless, the music is stellar. as is our rather unfortunate familiarity with so many of the words to so many of these songs.

elerz — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 15:12:00 GMT

the snow in the middle of chapin lawn does, in fact, come up to my knees

elerz — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 21:27:35 GMT

good things:

a) GORGEOUS snow today. and both my classes were canceled. and Justin extended the deadline for our final until tomorrow morning. and my roommate is amazing. as are my friends. :)

b) have i mentioned this? after birthright i am spending 5 days in Israel with my mom. exciting. last time this ended in random trips to tel aviv and a really ridiculous condom (it's on my desk . . .). this time might be a lot more about visiting sabba, but it's still something i'm looking forward to. a lot.

c) snow snow snow. :)

elerz — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 15:02:23 GMT

tomer and guy are getting chanukkah presents this year because the mother of a friend of theirs told my mom that it wasn't ok that she didn't buy her kids chanukkah presents. yay for respecting cultural differences? i think it's a little bit ridiculous, but not in any sort of way that i'm deeply invested in. i'm mostly just really amused by it.

also, happy thanksgiving!
i'm really excited about being home and having thanksgiving with family. it's just nice. and exciting.

i hope you all have a wonderful day :)
♥