Fish Fry Fridays

It's a four-day weekend! Well, technically three, but my roommate and I don't have class on Fridays so it's nice break.  I'll be needing all the time I can get because of these crazy projects that I'm working on.  I figured that if I want to get stuff done this weekend, I can't worry myself about food.  So I cooked copious amounts of catfish and baked french fries today!

Fried catfish has to be one of the most delicious things I've eaten and I haven't had it since the last time I went to New Orleans.  It's a tradition down there to have a fish fry on Fridays because most of the population is Catholic and Catholics aren't supposed to eat meat on Fridays.

Funny story: I really started craving catfish recently because I've been watching this documentary on Netflix called River Monsters.  Apparently catfish can grow to be over ten-feet long and swallow HUMANS whole.  I couldn't believe it.  I had to show them who's boss..

First we had to prep the fries because they take the longest to cook.  I preheated the oven to 400 and asked my roommate to cut up some potatoes in a french-fry-ish shape.

Then I brushed on a mixture of olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and herb seasoning, chili powder, oregano and thyme.

Then I threw them into the oven and pulled them out after about 45 minutes.

For the fish I began by cutting my catfish filets into pieces.

I dipped those pieces into a mixture of egg and milk, into a mixture of flour, salt, pepper, Old Bay Spice and chili powder, (I like to double-batter so:) into the egg and milk a second time and into the flour mixture a second time and into the pan!

I made sure the oil was hot before I threw in the fish and flipped them every few minutes to make sure they wouldn't burn.  By the time I was done frying, my fries were done and I pulled together a tasty meal!

We had lots of stuff to eat the catfish and fries with: Lemon slices, tartar sauce, malt vinegar and ketchup!  And of course a Coke to drink (:  I swear, the fish was so fresh and tender that it tasted like little chunks of fried butter.

To top it all off, my mom had a King Cake sent to me today.  If you don't know what that is, it's a Mardi Gras tradition.  Part of the fun is that you're supposed to hide a plastic baby Jesus in the cake and whoever finds it gets good luck and has to buy next year's cake.

Normally King Cakes are supposed to be pretty dry, but this one has a cream cheese filling (:

I hope y'all had a fry-tastic Friday..

..and will have a well-thought-out weekend.

This week..

..has been busy and there's only more to come!

My art history class focuses on the American Home and I have to write a 10 page paper about Hearst Castle and Citizen Kane.  As fun as that sounds..

Oh, but I have fun projects too.  Now that we've turned in our first project for animation, we are starting on our final projects which is anything we make it.  I'm thinking I need to go supply shopping for Play-Doh so I can make some claymation creatures (:

Our professor introduced us to an animator named Caroline Leaf, and the techniques she uses to make her characters move are just incredible:
Caroline Leaf- "The Street"
For this one she paints each frame with gouache mixed with glycerine so the paint never dries.  I'd love to try something like this, but it just looks way too time consuming for the month I have to finish my project.

On a musical note, I've been pretty stuck on funky love songs lately.  I think it has to do with the Pandora station I made.  It started off with John Legend and I added Marvin Gaye and Barry White.  It's has evolved into something pretty amazing.

Carl Carlton- "She's a Bad MamaJama"
Michael Jackson- "PYT"
Zapp & Roger- I Want to be Your Man

So, I've decided that I want to study abroad again.  This time it's a month-long summer art program in the French Riviera.  I entered one of my paintings in an awards show here because they are giving away a $1000 scholarship for this program.  It was my first time entering anything in a show, so I'm pretty nervous and I hope I win something!

For those of you who have been to my apartment, you know that our front door used to be a sliding-glass door.  But they recently installed brand new French doors and a screen!  The only problem is now that we have a real door, we have to rearrange our furniture to let it freely swing open.  It's like Tetris, but with real-life objects and space.

As you guys probably know by now: I love food, I love cooking, I love eating, I love feeding.  And I'm still craving my New Orleans-style food, so I took it upon myself to make red beans n' rice.  The thing I love most about this meal is that you just leave it in your crockpot all day while you run errands or go to work/school and by dinnertime you've got a taaaasty meal!
I started mine off by cutting up an onion, some ham steak and a pack of andouille sausages and browning all of it in a pan with some butter.  I put the beans in my crockpot and stirred in the stuff from the pan.

Andouille sausage is delicious and spicy. It's used a lot in cajun cuisine.

That'll be sitting in my kitchen all day and making my house smell nice (till it's time to eat it yum yum).  I like to eat my red beans with some cut up little peppers, tabasco and ketchup.  I can't wait till dinnertime.

I was kind of hungry when I was cooking, so I set aside some of the browned ham and onion and slapped on a slice of provolone to melt on top of it.  I toasted some bread, put some dressing and fixings on it and put the melty-cheesy-oniony ham in the middle.

Who needs hamburgers, when you got ham sandwiches like this.

I definitely enjoyed this sandwich while typing this post and now it's time to eat some ganache-covered cheesecake with raspberries on top for dessert.  I bought it at The Nugget's bakery and I don't regret a thing.

I hope y'all are having a snackin' Saturday like me (:

I'm Baaaaaack

Alrighty! So it's been a while since I've been on here, and I have tons of new things to share!

Winter Quarter has been pretty interesting thus far and the weather has been getting less and less wintery.

I'm taking animation, painting, educational psychology and an art history class about American homes.

For our first assignment we were using this ridiculous program in animation called DanceForms.  It has to be the most annoying program I've ever used in the history of using programs.  I felt like I had no control over the characters that I created.  I made them, they should do what I want. Not what they want.. Anyway, just made my characters do some dance moves and got some weird camera angles and threw something together that was close to 3 minutes.  Haha, the first critique we had of our characters my professor literally said "Very disturbing (in a good way).." 

Painting has been pretty difficult lately because it's supposed to be an 'abstract' class, but I guess I think too much and too literally.  I think the things I make are cool, but they're not necessarily meant for this class.

Plane stencil

Lawn chair stencil

ON ANOTHER NOTE....

I've been feeling pretty distant from people lately, and that always brings me closer to my roots.  Makes me think a lot about family and the close friends that I do have.  What better way to bring these things together than with food?  For those of you who don't know, my mother and her side of the family all hail from the sweet city of New Orleans.  I'm thinking these next few weeks will be full of southern eats (:

I haven't been up on my cooking lately and I figured I'd go all out and make fried chicken, collard greens, baked beans and corn bread.

Yummm......

mmmmmm....

I knew the collard greens would take the longest so I started those first by browning an onion and some ham steak in a pot with some butter.

After that started getting all steamy and good-smelling, I added the greens and chicken broth almost enough to cover them.

I let that stay on medium-high heat for a bit and added brown sugar to taste, a splash of vinegar and few shakes of chili powder.

Reduce heat, put a lid on it and stir every once in a while. The longer they sit, the more the'll cook down. I like them after about 45 minutes on the stove.

I threw a can of baked beans into a pot to warm up while my roommate made some instant mix cornbread.

Once that was in the oven, I started on the chicken.  I made a kind of battering station.  Beat eggs in one bowl and made a mixture of flour, salt, pepper, chili powder and oregano in the other.

Okay, so making fried chicken is a little messy.  I like to double batter them so I dip the chicken into the egg, into the flour, into the egg again, into the flour again and finally into a pan of lots of HOT oil.  The way I check to see if my oil is hot enough is by throwing a little piece of batter into the pan.  If it immediately starts sizzling and floating, you're in business.

The chicken should be fully cooked after 10 to 15 minutes on each side, but flip constantly or else your bird will burn.

I have to say, my house smells comparable to KFC.  Which I'm happy about because I've been craving chicken for a while and I'm scared of the KFC up here.

Well, I hope y'all had a slammin' Saturday (:

Thanksgiving Practice

One of the weird traditions that my family has is a "Practice Thanksgiving Dinner" where we have a mini-Thanksgiving meal complete with turkey breast, stuffing, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce and all!  So, when I heard that my apartment complex would be putting on a FREE Thanksgiving Dinner at the front office, I was stoked!  Leo and I decided it would be best to get there early before the crowd; man, were we right.  A bunch of people missed out on apple and pumpkin pie, but we didn't (:

Taken with my cell phone.

This picture does not do that food justice.  Note: Gravy on everything; I wouldn't have it any other way.  I'm kind of bummed that I won't be going home this year, but our break starts on the exact same day as Thanksgiving, it's a really short break and a long drive.  They know I love 'em and miss 'em!  Instead I'll be getting a few friends together for a Boston Market feast!

If you are ever in the Davis area and you're looking for the best burger in the world, I suggest you hit up Sam's Mediterranean Cuisine.  People always look at me funny when I say that.  Their kebob, shawarmas and falafel are good too, don't get me wrong.  But their burgers are golden; glistening in the sun.  ESPECIALLY if you substitute tahini sauce for mayo.  They also sell super tasty baklava!

Typical order: Cheeseburger w/Tahini Sauce, Fries, Drink and Baklava!

I always end up bringing half of it home, though..

Random Music Notes! 

I heard both of these songs in the same day and it was just kind of neat, I guess:

Where is my Mind-The Pixies

20Dollar-MIA

The other day I took all of my CD's out of my car so I could put my music on my computer, but of course, I forgot to put them all back.  So I've been stuck finding radio stations which I haven't had to do in literally over 5 years.  I realize I have no idea what songs are really trendy so I never get tired of songs that are "over-played."  I digress.  Anyway, that one Sugar Ray song, Fly, came on and it reminded me of riding in my older sister's car when I was seven-ish. I like this song so much and I would always sing and dance to it. I remember my sister would giggle and nudge her friend to watch her dorky little sister in the back seat.  It's funny how songs can trigger such fun memories.  If any of you have songs like that, please share! I love stories.

Well, I ought to get back to studyin' er somethin'.

Hope your Saturday is swell (:

Ain't Nothin' but a Monday

I feel like a new person pretty much every week.  Something always seems to happen during the week or over the weekend that alters my mindset.  This means that my personality and habits are constantly changing!

I've been listening to a lot of hip-hop, rap and r&b for the past few weeks and I think I'm ready for a change.  Don't get me wrong, I love the music, but my mind needs to be stimulated with something that has less of a clean beat right now.  I'm not sure who all reads this, but if you have any musical suggestions (or if you want to make me a mix cd!), I'm always open for listening!  I listen to all types of music, but I don't know much about specific 'genres.' If I like it, I like it; could care less if it's considered bluegrass or metal.  Here are a few of my favorite songs:

Ugly Duckling-"Journey to Anywhere"
Brazilian Girls-"Good Time"
Nujabes-"Aruarian Dance"
Explosions in the Sky-"First Breath After Coma"


SO! This weekend was pretty busy. I had a group photography project that was due today. We focused on staging shots and using strobe lighting. My group decided to take photos of "extreme stereotypes of college students."

You know how when you "forget" to do a ton of reading.. and the midterm is tomorrow..  and you spend your night feverishly studying instead of being a normal human.. and you feel like you're eating your book? Yeah.

How about when you procrastinate that final essay.. and it's due at 11:59PM tonight via e-mail.. suddenly you're swamped with lecture and book notes and chaotically scribbling an outline?

Maybe you didn't study as much as those other kids?

I didn't take this one, but I edited it! 

I'm actually pretty sad because I had downloaded a 30-day trial of Adobe Photoshop CS5 and it just recently expired. I figured I'd just buy it when that happened, but not with it's $999.99 price-tag! S'pose I'll be looking for an older/cheaper version! If that doesn't work out, I can always use the computer lab on campus.


I also went to SF this weekend! My photography professor had us meet outside of the Museum of Modern Art and we did a gallery walk around San Francisco. I asked him if I could bring one of my art-major friends, Akriti, even though she isn't in the class and he said "Of course!" I was a little upset that we didn't actually go into the MoMA because I heard that their Exposed show is really great, but I had a ton of fun walking around the smaller galleries. It's nice to get out of Davis every once in a while and remember that urban life is not too far away. Unfortunately, I only took a few city-shots in the car. The galleries didn't like us taking pictures and I didn't think to take pictures with my friend!

One thing that I wish I went to while I was in SF is the Hellz Bellz SF Sample Sale! Designer Lanie Alabanza-Barcena is actually a San Diego native, like me, so I try to support her and her edgy style. The only sad thing is that her stuff is pretty expensive, but if I had gone to the Sample Sale in SF I would have gotten 50%-75% off!

Well, I'm off to continue studying for my psychology midterm!


Hope your Monday was marvelous (:

Art and Other Stuff that Matters

I made soooo much food last night.  I'm going to be eating Chicken Parmesan for lunch and dinner for the next few days, so it'll be a while before I do any food-related posts. Althoooough, I did buy this AMAZING curry-spiced sweet potato salad from the Nugget.  I had no idea curry and sweet potatoes would be such a magical combination.

I love movies and television; there, I said it.
I just realized that I've been on a Quentin Tarantino binge ever since school started.  Between my roommate and I, we own Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill Volumes 1&2 and Inglourious Basterds on DVD and watch them all on a regular basis.  We recently discovered another Tarantino movie, Jackie Brown, on Netflix.  Definitely one of my new favorites!  I don't know if other people know this or not, but I just found out that there will be a KILL BILL VOLUME 3 COMING OUT IN 2014!!!  Oh, Tarantino, how I'd love to jump in your brain and swim in your thoughts.

I figured I'd take this time to share some of my art!  My favorite mediums are ceramics, video and photography.  I'll probably post some pictures of my ceramic creations at another time; I haven't been documenting my art so I still have to take some pictures.
This quarter I'm taking two art classes: Painting and Digital Photography.
Painting is a new subject to me and I'm still trying to figure it all out; maybe I'll post pictures as my work improves.
I've only taken one previous photo class, but I think it's really great.  I especially love the photoshop world because it lets me bend reality.  Our first few projects in the class were portraits so I shot my roommate and one of my friends.  We also had to take a couple self portraits, one of which had incorporate two different images.

My Roommate..

..and best friend..

Leo

My friend..

Ali

Reppin' the San Dizzle.  Bandera de Cuba. And a fun drawing.

I think this one is my profile pic?

It's definitely starting to get chilly here and I'm going to have to make some warmer outfits.  When I left my apartment the sun was shining and kept me warm, but as day went on cloud-coverage made me kind of wish I had just worn sweats.  Nonetheless, I think being cold was worth wearing this outfit (:

I think my favorite thing about this outfit is that the whole thing only cost me around $15!
I got the jacket and the skirt at a Salvation Army in San Diego; both half price.  The jacket was $2.50 and the skirt was $3!
I mentioned the shoes in a previous post and I got them for $5 at the SPCA Thrift Store here in Davis.
The shirt is just a plain white tank; I probably got it from target for $5 or something.
And the socks were a high school graduation gift from a friend (:

Well, I'm off to finish up that self portrait painting..
I hope your Tuesday goes swimmingly!

WeekendFull

Goodness, I've been busy this weekend.

Friday I had my internship in art classrooms at Davis Senior High where I work with Nikki from Little Bits of NikkNak.

Nikki!

I'm so glad I met her, she's such a rad person.  She always wears the cutest outfits and does the cutest things!  She's the main person who got me interested in blogging because she is always talking about the great people she meets and things she finds.  It's great to finally know someone who started where I am and is currently where I want to be in the not-too-distant future; a high school art teacher.  I have so much to learn!  Nikki also has this great giveaway going on at her blog, I have no idea who reads my blog, but if you do you should check it out!

After work, we went to the SPCA Thrift Store where I got a MUCH needed new belt, two pairs of adorable shoes and a granny dress that I plan on doing some alterations on (when I get the time).

$3!

$5!

I also made a stop to UC Davis' Meat Lab.

Every Thursday and Friday from 1-5:30..

..they sell fresh meat, cheese and eggs..

..and frozen meats for 15% off.

They have SUPER fresh meat and by "SUPER fresh" I mean that they slaughter the animals right there.  I know, it sounds pretty gruesome, but I'm just glad that I can get such high quality meat at such a great price!  I bought 1.5 pounds of cheese/garlic seasoned chicken breast and 2 pounds of pre-seasoned carne asada; all for under $12.

Tonight for dinner I decided to try and make something new: Chicken Parmesan!

yummmm..

First I pre-heated my oven to 350.  I used the cheesy/garlic-y chicken breast that I bought from the Meat Lab and pounded it to about 1/2 an inch thickness.  I then dipped the raw chicken in egg and seasoned breadcrumbs and browned each side of the chicken in oil on medium-high heat for about 3-5 minutes per side.  I removed the chicken from the stove and placed them on a baking pan where I COVERED them with a layer of mozzarella cheese, spaghetti sauce, and another of mozzarella cheese.  I let these sit in the oven for about half an hour.

While the chicken was baking I made a cucumber/tomato salad with balsamic vinaigrette.  Super easy to make; just coarsely chop a big cucumber and about 4 tomatoes, mix in a bowl, and pour vinaigrette to taste.  I actually enjoy this salad more the day after I make it because the cucumber and tomatoes get a chance to marinate in the balsamic vinaigrette for even more flavor.  Whenever my family gets together someone makes this simple salad and it always disappears!

I also made a college version of cheesy-garlic bread.  My roommate left for the weekend and I noticed that his hotdog buns were beginning to get stale.  I took a few of them and separated the two buns.  I made a mixture of margarine and minced garlic and coated the top of each piece.  I put these in the oven (still at 350) for 2-3 minutes, covered them with mozzarella cheese, and put them back in the oven till the cheese melted and the edges of the bread were crispy.

Definitely a successful dinner tonight.  I've been so busy/lazy that I haven't had time to cook or go grocery shopping.  I'm finally getting back in the swing of things and doing the things I love to do.  Now that I'm eating better, maybe I'll start a work-out routine too?

Eh, one thing at a time..

As for homework, my photography professor has us all making a list of 50 potential final project ideas.  At first I thought it was so stupid to make us think of so many different topics, but I realized that I would come up with great ideas just because I had been sitting there thinking for such a long time.  I guess professors occasionally know what they're talking about.

Well, I'm off to go work on a self portrait painting!

I hope y'all have a great Monday (: