I've been around for quite a while and realized this week that nearly *every*thing I do in the crockpot ends up a greasy, tasteless over-cooked mess. Perhaps now it's time to get serious about my slow cooking and turn to the pros for help.
1. I read on some blogs that you can put a smaller, oven safe dish inside a larger slow cooker and cook your food in the smaller dish. Does anyone have any experience with this? Does it work?
2. Is there a small (1.5 - 2.0 quart) programmable slow cooker on the market? My Google-fu failed me on this. Since it's just me, a smaller slow cooker would be better than a larger one.
3. Most of the food I've done in the crockpot has ended up both dried out (waaay over cooked) and greasy, becuase of using cheaper cuts of meat. They also seem to be drowning in too much liquid. Suggestions or thought?
4. Cuisinart makes an expensive 3.5 programmable verion-- does anyone have any experience with it?
I know this is a going to sound completely out there but it's 2.20am and I can't sleep from worrying about this.
I graduated this Summer with a BA (Hons) in English Studies and I'm now sitting my MLitt English Studies. So far I am adoring my course, I can't stress how much I am loving what I am studying and how excited I am at the opportunity to study something I have great passion for.
My problem is, I feel like I've always managed to fluke my decent/good grades and now that I have hit Masters level and my first essay deadline is coming up, I'm a bit worried about the transition from how an essay at post-grad level should be compared to an essay at under-grad. The standard is very high and I am aiming for a distinction, I want to prove my potential in a way that I don't think I managed at under-grad.
So my questions are
1. Have you studied an MLitt/MA course in English Studies before? If so what difference did you notice in what you had to input in your essays between the under-grad and post-grad courses? Did you include a lot of theory, was your textual analysis more in depth?
2. No matter what post-grad/masters course you study, how much of your academic work do you feel is your own ideas? I guess this is pretty normal for academia, but I feel like I'm just repeating a mash of different established ideas and paraphrasing in my own words.
3. How do you keep your confidence up about your abilities? Clearly I am having a middle of the night ohmygodimgoingtofailandthennotgetajoband
enduphomelessanddie type panic, what do you do to calm yourself down in these situations
Sorry about the nature of this message! Any advice is appreciated
Somehow, I found time to get back to some books... Got some random books when I thought I would only have books to accompany me for the Bali trip... but the 2 books that I brought there wasn't touched at all. I was hooked in front of the TV, with the programmes or DVDs, otherwise it was fellowship with our friends that didn't warrant any reading to be done.
I finished reading 2.
Brida by Paulo Coelho
One of his typical book about love, witches, religion.... found it quite similar to some of his other books. Much preferred the different ones like Eleven Minutes etc.
Young Wives' Tales by Adele Parks
Quite a good read... but littered with affairs, divorces.... and some successful marriages..... Guess I'm really quite sheltered. The world I know seems to be a nicer place compared to what I read or watch on TV/movies. Thankful for the persevering and everlasting love I know among my couple friends and families....
I really am still a hopeless romantic and choose to believe that Love Can Last Forever.
Hope everyone's having a great day despite of the rainy weather now....
It was a great weekend though, busy with RX's wedding.. Will post pics soon :)
Looking forward to this weekend and then our mini holiday again!
I went to my high-school reunion.
Everyone was older and wider (though apparently not wiser).
There were two types of people at the reunion: those who hadn't changed, and those who had.
I had.
I'll dig up a high-school picture of me and post it in a few days.
A lot of people had changed a lot. I spent much of the evening walking around and looking at faces while looking closely at name-tags, hoping to remember who this person was.
People who knew me then didn't recognize me.
I got this a lot, "I never would have recognized you." and "You certainly have changed."
The reactions I got from my response to this reminded me of what an outcast I was in High School. No one understood at all when I said, "Yeah, I'm being played by a different actor."
(Blank Stare)
I probably shouldn't be allowed to talk to normal people.
So will I go again in 5 years?
yay!! so i managed to cook for six people tonight for dinner. it was pretty epic. i did an entree of udon noodle soup and an appetizer with egg foo yung. it was super fun and everyone loved how the food turned out. this is really exciting; i would cook for other people everyday if i could. my only complaint is that my kitchen is way too small, and i didn't have any large pots, so i had to use three different pots on different burners to make the amount that i needed. i'm glad, though, that i had perfectly estimated how much to make- no leftovers, and enough to fill everyone to the brim.
I went to a crafts fair and had a lot of fun wandering around and seeing all the creativity and bright colors. I learned how to crochet/knit a bag with a leather bottom. I also tried needle felting which is very calming, easy, and fun. There were some other things as well but I do not remember how it was called. It's like the earlier version of crochet and what they used in the viking times. Also saw a kind of weaving using squares with 4 holes in them and you rotate them a quarter, slide thread through the opening and repeat, making a lovely design in a belt like length. I also saw lace making with the bobbins. Pretty cool and not as hard as I thought it would be. I am sure I am forgetting some things.
I'm searching for black vegan ballet-type flats that are comfortable (lots of people think all ballet flats are comfortable, but they're dead wrong...lots of them pinch one's toes, etc.). I have found some in stores and online, but none of the ones I tried on in stores was very comfortable.I'm hesitant to buy online because I don't know if the shoes will fit and don't want to be out the shipping if they don't (I realize Zappos and Planet Shoes offer free shipping, but most of their shoes are either exceedingly expensive or don't look terribly comfortable). I would also like something ethically made, if at all possible. I'm sure there are somewhat comfortable, cute flats and Payless, but I'd rather not go that route. It seems that all the shoes made of recycled materials or hemp or whatever are quite ugly. I need these for work, and I wear mainly dresses/skirts and dress pants to work. I don't want anything too bulky or sporty. I prefer a classic styling. Does anyone have any suggestions for wear to look or recommendations of shoes that they've tried on (or own) that are comfortable?
I own two 10 year old female cats. If you are a cat lover you probably understand what this post is all about. If you are one of these imbecils who hate cats, go away!
One of my cats is very special, it was born with no tail. Yes that's right, completely no tail. She runs funny, kinda looks like a rabbit. Because of this anomaly her muscles back there are weeker and we all know what comes out of their back ends. Sometimes, a small chunk of it sticks around and she walks around with it on her bum. Spreading it everywhere. Let me tell you, this is no fun. But I love her so I cope.
My other cat is a plain normal, but looks like a male cat. Seriously she looks like a butch lesbian cat.
Welcome to my blog, this is my first post. I have never done anything like this before, but so many people are blogging, I thought that I would give it a shot.
I plan to write about anything that I think is interesting with my opinion inserted in various places. Do not expect expert writing, far from it.
That's it for now
Lauren
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