Our Coffee Date: Moving Forward

Posted on September 23, 2012 by


One of my favorite bloggers occasionally does a “Coffee Date” post to talk to her readers about what’s going on with her.  I think it’s an adorable idea and since, a) I know pretty much all of you personally and most likely have gotten coffee with you at one point or another and b) this post has nothing to do with food, exercise or travel, the normal topics of the blog, I’m going to start to call these kinds of posts “Coffee Dates.”

So, if we were sitting down to coffee, here is what I would tell you, in one, big 10 15 minute monologue.

Hey.  Sorry, sorry, sorry, I’ve been completely MIA (without any warning!) for a month.  Let me tell you, like so many weeks have been since I got back from China, things have been C.R.A.Z.Y. recently.

But why go silent without any warning?  Well, the last time we talked I had just had the first interview for a job I really, REALLY wanted.  The dinner at Jaleo was a celebration of sorts.  I didn’t mention it, though, for a couple reasons.  First, I was really nervous I wasn’t going to get the job.  Second, I wanted the job so bad that I was scared to tell people because I didn’t want to make it feel “real” or have to explain what happened when if I didn’t get it.

I was having anxiety (per usual) and having a hard time handling it, let alone explaining why I was having it! So, I retreated and just stopped talking.  I actually didn’t tell most of my family and friends about the first interview.  It even took me a full day to tell Ethan, which is crazy.

Next thing I knew I got a second interview.  The first interview was on the phone but this time I was actually going into the office to answer more questions and translate an article from Chinese to English.  Anxiety -> through the roof.

And then, just after that the interview, they asked me if they could contact my references. I thought I would hear last Friday, but I didn’t and I spent the weekend worrying.  Anxiety -> skyrocketing.

And then Monday came.  I heard nothing.  I left work feeling down like this was going to be dragged out FOREVER… and then while I was walking around D.C. I checked my email and BAM.  Email in my inbox with an employment offer.

*REJOICES*  I HAVE A JOB.  LIKE A REAL, HONEST TO GOODNESS, NOT PAID BY THE HOUR, BENEFITS INCLUDED, JOB.

WOOOOOHOOOOO.

So yeah, I have a job.  And I went silent for a month because the thought of sitting down to write a post and not mention it, was impossible but the thought of sitting down to write a post and mentioning it, with the possibility of not getting it, was horrifying.  What can I say?  I do know that’s pretty crazy logic and there is like 10 different equally terrifying things a therapist could say about that statement.  And usually I’m not that kind of person.  But I guess in the face of what I would construe as “possible failure” I get kind of wacky.  I’m starting to realize like never before that I don’t handle what I consider the possibility of failure or failure itself, as well as I would like.

But anyways, the details:

I’ll be working as a China Analyst at a small (very, very small!) Department of Defense contractor called the Long Term Strategy Group.  (I would link to their website, but there is nothing on it…)  I’ll be researching and writing reports on current economic, political, and military issues in China using open source information from domestic and foreign newspapers and journals!

I’m super, duper excited.

:)

Here is what’s been up over the last month:

Went rock climbing. Me ↑ Abby ↓

Made some pecan crusted catfish and drumroll, please GOT MY LIGHT BOX UP AND RUNNING!

Started boxing again.  WOOO.  Ethan and I bought a Groupon for 10 classes at L.A. Boxing.  LOVE.

Got my hair cut in a cut that I love but the hairdresser SHAVED the underside of my head, which gave me a flippin’ heart attack.

I went to New York for Ethan’s brother’s engagement party.  I got to spend a day bumming around the city with Emily, going to markets, eating delicious food, and, of course, shopping.  Oh yeah, and I got to hang out with the STINKER.

Aaaaand last but certainly not least, I started a GRE prep class which takes approximately 1238073280 hours of my life each week between the 3.5 hour classes, the 4 hour practice exams (1/week), the 150+ practice problems, and the gazillion vocab words.

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Domain Update!

Posted on August 28, 2012 by

Oh hey there!

The fluffybread just got it’s own domain!  You may have to update your google reader (or what ever aggregater you use) by subscribing to thefluffybread.com.

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Jaleo Review

Posted on August 26, 2012 by

Sorry about missing last Wednesday’s post.  Something came up (something very exciting! more on that later) and I spent most of the week running around like a crazy person.  I had a wonderful weekend though, full of food and fun.

Ethan and I had reservations at Jaleo on Friday to catch the end of D.C.’s restaurant week.  Jaleo is a Jose Andres restaurant.  I LOVE eating at his restaurants because he’s truly a cooking genius.  He is so innovative – he always puts flavors together that you’d never dream of putting together, but in the end, they are totally amazing together.  I practically died when Gwyneth (we’re BFFs, she just doesn’t know it yet) did a post on cooking with him.  JEALOUS.

Even though the restaurant week prices were great, we ended up ignoring the restaurant week menu and just ordering directly from the normal menu.  The food is just too good to be constrained to a tiny restaurant week menu.

We did start out with the wine flight from the restaurant week menu.  Usually you drink the wines in order (in this picture from right to left) but I’m not a huge red wine fan, so Ethan took the red and I took the white.  The white all the way to the right was AMAZING.  Its called Terraprimo Riesling and it was sweet and crispy.

Next we had smoked cow’s milk gouda cheese with a nut brittle.  MMM.

Then my favorite dish from the whole night, an almond garlic cold soup with green grapes and crab.  Sounds like an odd mish-mash of flavors but it was DELICIOUS.

Battered shrimp with caper mayonnaise sauce – Ethan’s favorite dish from the night.

Crab with diced zucchini, cucumbers, peppers, and cauliflower.  We were astonished at how much crab was in this dish!

I think a close second favorite for the both of us, these were empanadas stuffed with a cod emulsion.  Basically, the cod was pureed with cream (and probably a bunch of other things), plopped into a deep fried empanada, and then they drizzled honey on top.  These were amazing!  A definite must if when you go to Jaleo.

Next we had an egg “tortilla” which was made with sweet caramelized onions and Mahon cheese.  Before this came out Ethan and I were thinking we’d have to order a few more plates, but this was so delicious and so filling…

Last but not least, we had spinach with apples, raisins and pine nuts!

Our very convincing waitress assured us that we NEEDED dessert, so we opted for some coffee and the chocolate flan with olive oil and brioche ice cream, topped with a caramelized slice of bread… I’m sure you can tell from the picture that it was HORRIBLE.

Lastly, we finished the night out with drinks at the Iron Horse tap room, a half block away from Jaleo on 7th street.

All and all dinner at Jaleo was wonderful.  One wonderful summery night right before I left for China my Dad and Val took me, my sister, and one of her close friends there for dinner.  It was perfect.  Perfect weather, amazing food, great sangria, engaging conversation.  During the LONG winter months in China, away from my family and Ethan, I frequently thought about that dinner.  I remember sitting outside looking around at Chinatown, thinking how much I had come to love D.C. and how hard it was going to be to leave.  I remember that night feeling all the overwhelming feelings that come when you’re on the cusp of something exciting, challenging, and unknown.  A year later, I returned again feeling like I’m on the cusp of the uncharted territory of adulthood, only the boundaries are a little less defined this time.

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Instagram and the Beach

Posted on August 21, 2012 by

Hey Everyone, sorry I’ve been MIA.  I was really excited about the post I filmed this past week that was supposed to go up on Sunday but when I loaded the video on to my computer I couldn’t figure out how to get the video from iPhoto to iMovie to edit it.  Every time I try to drop it into iMovie it tells me the file isn’t compatible.  Whhhhhy??  Does anyone have experience with this?

Anyways, as soon as I figure that issue out I’ll post the video, which, by the way, will be my first cooking video!  I’m really excited.  I go step by step through a recipe so that you guys can do it along with me!  And the recipe is totally delicious.

But for now, I thought I’d just post a few pictures from the weekend.  I downloaded instagram last week and so far, I’m really loving it (follow me and I’ll follow you back!  I’m beccahammer22).  Here are a few instagram-ed shot from the weekend.

We loaded up the car this weekend and headed to the beach for two short days with some friends.

Since my sister was home from Azerbaijan for just a few days (before she moves to New York!!) we decided to stay in the D.C. area on Friday night to hang out with her and then drive the the beach on Saturday morning.  That involved waking up early on Saturday so we could get a work out in and run some errands before hitting the road.  Coffee was necessary.

I made Ethan drive and entertained myself by instagraming a ton of old photos.  Isn’t he a total baby??

We walked to dinner while enjoying a beautiful sunset.

I got some new HOT PINK strength training/cross training shoes from the Reebok outlet on the way home.  Already in love!

Alright, keep an eye out for the video post!

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Big Island, Hawaii

Posted on August 15, 2012 by

Travel, travel, travel!  I wish I was doing more traveling!  Here are some pictures from the Big Island.
From the highway, looking down.
A rocky beach!
Nice little wading pool.
A black sand beach along the western Kona coast!  So crazy!  From a distance, it looks like the pavement runs directly into the water.
A rocky beach, like many beaches in Hawaii.  Since the islands were made completely by volcanoes most of the coastline doesn’t have sand beaches.  There are just these little patches of sandy beaches tucked in among miles of volcanic rock.
We saw these guys surfing from a bridge on a highway a little north of Hilo (Steve Job’s favorite spot on Hawaii).  We decided to turn back and see if we could find how they accessed the water.  It was really the only “real” surfing we saw while in Hawaii (not the right season).  These guys were really into though and even though it was pretty chilly and raining, they were showing no signs of stopping.
A beach we spent the afternoon at on the Kohala coast.  It was tucked away down a really long, only partially paved road.  We were afraid we would get stuck in the mile of lava rock bed that separated the highway and the beach!
Not crowded at all.
Truly beautiful water.
A sun set at a tiny community beach on the west side of the island.
Veggin’ out, taking pictures, and watching the sun set.  I’m wearing the hat my dad bought at the Volcano (next week’s post!!) that says, “Advice from a Volcano: Stay Active, Keep Your Inner Fire Burning, It’s Okay to Let off Steam, Have a Blast.”  How cute!

My first cooking youtube video this weekend!  Stay tuned!

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Lemony Black Bean Dip

Posted on August 13, 2012 by

This weekend was totally bananas, which is why I’m posting a little late.  Ethan’s parents were here which meant there was a lot of running around and, of course, a lot of eating.  I was a little scatter brained all weekend so I didn’t really take any pictures, but I did get to cook for more people than just Ethan and I for the first time since I got back from China, which was exciting (we made pineapple sticky rice for dessert!).  We also had a delicious brunch at Clyde’s, wonderful tapas dinner at my favorite restaurant, Zaytinya, and dessert at a bar in Arlington while hearing Ethan’s uncle’s jazz band play. (Pssst, Zaytinya is participating in D.C. restaurant week, which is August 13th through the 26th.)

It was great to see them (its been over a year since I last saw them!).  My only regret is that we didn’t snap any pictures.  Oh, well.  We’ll be up in New York in a month for Ethan’s brother’s engagement party, so we’ll have time to make up for it.

Week recap:

One of the things I’m really loving about being home is getting to run on the Hiker Biker trail that runs along Rock Creek which goes 14 miles from Lake Needwood, near my house, all the way into D.C.  The path totally spoils runners because its in the woods so it’s COMPLETELY shaded and very cool.  When I was living in Georgetown I was neglecting my long runs, but since moving back home, I’ve gotten in quite a few leisurely 6 mile runs.

I’ve been editing like crazy at work, which is not my strong suit.  We frequently get articles and case studies to edit that have been written in foreign languages and then translated word for word into English.  I get frustrated really fast editing these and then I usually just give up, which doesn’t help.  So this week I just printed them out, got a pen and these delicious Habanero BBQ almonds, and moved into the conference room with no distractions.  I’m happy to report that this was an effective strategy and I knocked all my editing projects out. (P.S. Those Habanero BBQ almonds are ridiculously good.)

AMY!  One of my college friends, Amy, who moved from the D.C. area to Colorado a year ago, was in town this weekend.  We had coffee from our favorite place, Le Pain Quotidien, snagged a free Georgetown Cupcake and then did some window shopping. (Did you know that every day Georgetown Cupcakes tweets their secret flavor of the day and the first 100 customers to come in and ask the for the flavor by name get a free cupcake?).  I miss you Amy!

I also tried a plumcot for the first time yesterday.  What is a plumcot you say?  It’s a delicious cross between a plum and an apricot.  (Trader Joes is selling them.)  You can’t really tell from the picture, but they had this beautiful red and grey striped skin. MMMM.

Obligatory Oscar picture.  His mommy comes home in two days to steal him back.  :(

Okay, so on to the recipe!  I first made this last summer while we were at the beach but I never posted it.  When Ethan’s parents came this weekend I decided to make it again but when I went to go look up the recipe on the blog I realized I never posted it!  So these pictures are from a year ago.  (Ethan actually made it the second time, under my direction…)

Lemony Black Bean Dip

Ingredients:

  • 1 can of black beans (reduced sodium, if you can find it)
  • 1/2 white onion, chopped
  • 1 1/2 lemons, juiced with the seeds picked out (you can also use a 1/4 cup a lemon juice)
  • leaves from 7 or 8 sprigs of cilantro (more if you love cilantro!)
  • optional: 6 tablespoons sour cream (for a creamier, tangy dip)
  • green onions for garnish

Process:

  • Drain and rise the black beans.  Set a quarter of the beans aside and place the rest in a food processor.  If you don’t have a food processor you can try a blender (I’ve never tired that though, so no promises) or you can mash with a fork and just have slightly larger pieces of onion, cilantro, etc.
  • Add the onion, cilantro, and lemon juice as well.  Blend until smooth.
  • Taste the dip.  Do you like it as is or would you like it better if it was creamier?  If you want it creamier, go a head and add a few tablespoons of sour cream.  Taste it again.  Repeat until you’re happy!
  • Scoop the dip out of the food processor and into a bowl.  Mix the remaining black beans in, garnish with chopped spring onions, and start dipping!

Notes:

Lemon is not a must.  You could use limes (you would probably need three) or a lemon and a lime.  Orange juice might also work, but I haven’t tried that one.  Also if you’re just not a fan of super lemony things you could just use 1 or a half of a lemon, although, it might interfere with the consistency, so be prepared to use the sour cream to help smooth it out or add a little water.  In terms of the sour cream, I’ve done it with and without sour cream and it was fabulous both ways.

Beans, onion, cilantro.

Topped with spring onions.

Chippin’

Albie wants!

mmmmmm.

Enjoy!

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O’ahu, Hawaii

Posted on August 8, 2012 by

Last week concluded the China adventures posts.

I have to say, it kind of bummed me out.  After being home for good for about three months and working for 10 weeks, I’m finally starting to really realize that I’m firmly in a new stage of my life and my life in China is history.  I know that sounds weird, but the first couple weeks back and working I felt oddly like my situation was temporary.  Maybe its because my China trip ended so quickly – it was a rush and flurry of traveling and packing as soon as the semester was over.  Maybe its because I thought I’d find a permanent job sooner, so I was anticipating imminent change.  But I haven’t found a permanent job and I’m no closer to finding one now that what I was when I started looking back in May.  So life continues on with much more of a “daily grind” feel than it had in China.

It’s hard to feel like that the book is closed on that part of my life, especially since I worked so hard for so long for it to be part of my life.  And I do know that the “China” part of my life isn’t closed, its just that specific trip and all the wonderful feeling of being an undergraduate that are closed.  But I would be lying if I said I’m not saddened by how small a role Chinese plays in my new life.  Just two hours a week on a skype call with teachers in China, hoping to preserve some small portion of the vast amount knowledge I gained over those two semesters in China.

But this post isn’t supposed to be on my ramblings about my life.  It’s supposed to be about O’ahu!  So lets move forward!
My dad and I left China around 2:00 p.m. on April 30th and arrived in O’ahu, after about 20 hours of travel, at 10:00 a.m. on April 30th.  Don’t think too hard about that one.  Anyways, we’d been up for a full day already and it was only the morning in Hawaii.  After a short nap, we decided to just take it easy and drive around to see the island.
As you can see, the road ran right along the water, perched up on the rocks high enough so you could get some breath taking views.

I don’t have a picture of it, but we ended up sitting for a while at Sandy Point Beach aka Break Neck Beach.  It’s called Break Neck Beach because the way the cove is laid out, the waves that crash there are enormous and crash almost on dry sand.  That makes for a not so soft landing for the masses of boogie boarders who flock to the cove.  Dad was considering going in but I managed to convince him not to.  Breaking your neck on the first day of your vacation = bad news bears.

the bonsai pipline

The second day on O’ahu we went to the northern part of the island where all the surfing competitions are held.

But when we got there we were sure we were at the wrong place.  Where are the monstrous waves?

waimea bay

Turns out these places are practically glassy when there aren’t big November storms off the coast.

Who knew?

Still beautiful, but not what we were expecting.

We spent a good part of that day flopping around Sharks’ Cove looking at fish and turtles and trying not to get sun burnt since there was practically no natural shade.

The third day we went snorkeling here.  My first time snorkeling.  It wasn’t the best snorkeling we did in Hawaii but it was a beautiful beach.

Not much exciting to report about O’ahu.  We spent a lot of time vegging.  Waikiki, the big resort and shopping town on O’ahu, was fun and provided us quite a bit of night time entertainment!

Next week I’ll do pictures from our adventures around the Big Island!

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