Packing and preparing

Normally I'd prefer to keep my decorations up until Russian Christmas, but with the semester starting and going out of town next week (albeit briefly, it's long enough to be troublesome) I took down my tree today.

Of course, it occurs to me that I haven't taken any "good" pictures of my first full-sized tree only after I start dismantling it. I only have crappy phone pics of proof of its existence. Like this:



So here is a postcard from packing it all up. Note the eclectic meets cheap-generic-oh-shit-I-need-to-put-something-on-this-tree collection of ornaments.



Pete was most disappointed that the source of amusement is going away. He expressed his disapproval by stealing garland.



Look at that face. It's a good thing he's so damn cute.

In other news, trying to not stress about the assessment too terribly much. It seems like it's mostly straight logic stuff, with interview-y type questions. I think I need to try to not read into it too much. I think. I don't know. I'm an analytical type at heart. It's hard to turn that off.

Holidays and health care reform perspectives

I hope that the handful of you that read my little journal had a lovely holiday, or if you don't celebrate, a lovely day. Christmas remains my favorite holiday, even though it doesn't really "feel" like Christmas when you're so busy in the time leading up that you're ready to drop from exhaustion. My all too brief winter break consisted of a lot of cooking and last minute baking/ confection making, DVD watching (while baking/ cooking), and napping. The cats, they do so like the toasty apartment and the bounty of treats, catnip, and toys from their admirers... not to mention the human-sized hot water bottle for their own napping.

It's sad that this was in all likelihood my last Christmas season here, and yet there was no visit to Oglebay or other light displays, no visits to the various holiday attractions, and little time with friends or family. Given that I'll be the low man on the totem pole wherever I am next season, I'll probably just be in and out for Christmas. Which means that there really isn't a "next year" anymore. It's weird to think about. I've tried to arrange time with others, but I think that there's a significant amount of denial and the insistence that I'm not going anywhere... making everything that much harder on me.

So... I made the first cut of the Presidential Management Fellowship. The next step is a really, really long test down in DC. So I'll be down January 13th, in downtown (the site's near the Farragut West metro stop), exact arrangements to be determined. I'm applying for a federal positions as they arise, but there's a state-level fellowship that looks intriguing. That one could place me in Virginia, NC, Maine (my top choices).

Anyway. Speaking of my future career and such, how about that health care reform? It's... something, but it's not real reform. It's an attempt to broaden access, but it's so bogged down with trying to keep various interests happy and it's lacking guiding principles like "nobody will go without health care" or "we will revamp our system to make it at least efficient enough to not spend one-fifth of our GDP on care that's not making our country particularly healthy". Or how about actually reducing the 5,000+ monthly deaths from preventable medical errors. It's also a testament to how far the country has shifted to the right in the past 40 years or so. The bills in the conference committee now are actually not so terribly different from health care reform legislation proposed by Richard Nixon, of all folks. Unfortunately, Watergate came along soon after, and that was pretty much the end of that. But it's a sad state of affairs when ideas that came from a fairly conservative president are now being blasted as "socialist." And it's an even sorrier state of affiars when this is, you know, only my field of study in which I'm a thesis away from a masters, and yet certain friends and family seem to think that I still know nothing about the subject. Huzzah for personal politics getting in the way of actual thought.

It pisses me off endlessly how people are in denial on both sides of the political spectrum. No, we DON'T have the best health care in the world. We're on par with countries like Costa Rica in terms of infant mortality, despite spending twice as much per capita as the next biggest spender. Yes, we have cutting-edge technology- but only a small fraction of the population can actually access it even with insurance thanks to arcane agreements between hospitals and insurers, cost-sharing and rules about "experimental" treatment. So what good is that technology if only the ultra-rich have access? On the other hand, stop comparing the US to Canada-- Canada has one-tenth of our population, is far less diverse, and has a completely different national character. And like it or not, we can't just destabilize such a huge chunk of the economy. Health care in the US has become a particularly large brain tumor at this point-- it's quietly grown into a major problem while we were all focused on more immediately pressing issues. But going in all helter-skelter is just as dangerous as completely ignoring the problem. But as we've sadly learned and seen, over and over again, nobody is willing to actually listen to the people who study this issue (ahem... like myself...). Almost everyone has their own political axe to grind, and very few are willing to let something like facts get in the way.

How to make pierogies in 15 simple steps

I decided to put together an illustrated guide to making pierogies from scratch. To the uninitiated (who are either not of Eastern European descent or have never spent a significant amount of time in places like Pittsburgh that happen to have a lot of people of Eastern European descent-- I happen to meet both criteria), pierogies are little carbohydrate bombs of joy. They're kind of like a ravioli, but larger and using an enriched dough. Potato and its variations (especially potato and cheese) are the most common fillings by far, but fillings can be cabbage-based (sauerkraut or chopped cabbage fried in bacon or butter), fruit-based (the most common are fresh plums and prepared prune filling called lekvar, but may include cherry, apple, and peach filling thickened with bread crumbs), or made from cheese (typically a farmer's cheese or dry cottage cheese bound with egg), mushrooms, or meat. Depending on what corner of the world originally called home or how badly anglicized the word is, they're called pierogi, perogi, perogy, piroghi, pirogi, pierogy, pirogen, pirohi (which is the version used in my grade school), pirohy, pyrohy, or a completely different name altogether. "Pirohi" and such with the long E sounds are actually the multiple noun.

There are as many ways to make these little carbohydrate bombs of joy as there are ways to name and fill them. This is how I make them, a variation on this incredibly helpful recipe. My trusty stand mixer is invaluable for mixing the dough, which is notoriously difficult.

First, two and a half cups all-purpose flour and one teaspoon table salt are whisked together in the mixing bowl:



Next, add one whole egg, one egg yolk, and two generous tablespoons full-fat sour cream:



Mix well, drizzling in about a half cup lukewarm water:



Gently knead the dough together and switch to the dough hook. Add about another tablespoon or two of water if necessary to get the dough bits to stick together to form a coherent mass.



Let the dough knead on low speed for a bit, until it forms a smooth mass (~10-15 minutes). When it looks something like this, cover well and allow to rest for half an hour. I wrapped it in a damp paper towel and placed it in a plastic bag.



While the dough is resting (and happy gluten proteins are developing away), you can prepare the filling if you haven't already. This filling is made from potatoes boiled with cloves of preserved dilled garlic, mashed with a little sour cream, seasoned with salt, pepper, and dill then mixed with about a half cup minced onion softened in butter and shredded cheddar cheese.



I have a large pot of water on to boil.



I also have sliced onions softened in *a lot* of butter (this isn't health food-- and the excess butter helps prevent the pierogies from sticking together in storage) ready to go.



Some of the onions and butter are used to grease the pan in which they'll be frozen.



Now that at 30-45 minutes have passed, it's time to roll out the dough. Roll to ~1/16th of an inch thick and cut out using a round cutter 3"-4" in diameter. You can cut out squares with a knife or pizza cutter if you don't have a biscuit cutter. You can use a glass, but the edges tend to not be sharp enough. The dough is quite elastic and can be challenging to work by hand, especially the first time when you're getting a feel for the technique (I assure you that my recipe variation is actually the easiest to work of the ones I've tried). Scraps can be dipped in water and kneaded back together.



Place about a teaspoon of filling in the center of each. Really, that's ALL. About ONE teaspoon. Moisten edges with water, fold in half and pinch closed. Avoid air pockets at all costs.



I crimp the edges with a fork to make sure they're sealed well.



Drop into boiling water, making sure to stir within the first minute to ensure even cooking and to avoid air pockets that can cause the pierogies to burst.



Once they float, I give them about another minute, then scoop them out of the water and drop them into the waiting butter and onion bath.



Out of the butter and onions and either into your mouth, or into the pan to freeze.



I get about 60 or so out of this recipe. Five or so fist-sized all-purpose potatoes make about twice the amount of filling needed for one recipe of dough. A tightly sealed pan can be frozen for use later. The pan can be thawed out for a day, then placed in a low oven tightly covered with foil for about 45 minutes to an hour. Or zapped, covered with plastic wrap to keep them from drying out.

And there you have it! They're a hell of a lot of work-- allow yourself at least four hours-- but they really are miles apart from their commercially available cousins.

So let it be known for what we believe in, I can see no reason for it to fail

Finals are over. Of course, I look a fright, I have not had an actual "meal" in two weeks, I have minimal fingernails left, the apartment is a disaster zone of Christmas presents for the family, hundreds upon hundreds of pages of readings, notes, and homework, empty diet pepsi bottles, and dirty laundry piling sky high. The litter box and the garbage can are on the verge of sentience. Coming off the dread flu right into finals will do that. Remind me why I'm doing this "school" thing again? Because this is pleasurable?

Today is my last day "working" of the year. I use the term loosely, as I'm plain out too fried to be of much use to anyone. I suppose my finals went.. okay. I don't know. But it's okay, I don't like to feel overly confident. When I feel too confident, I do worse because I have the habit of whipping through an exam too quickly and making stupid mistakes. Like last night-- I couldn't see the clock very well from my seat, so I panicked thinking time was nearly up (a non-trivial number had finished the exam by then-- about 20% of the moderately large class). I raced through the last question, and the extra credit.. and once I was outside I saw that there was a whole extra hour. Oops. The professor I need to talk to about my masters essay apparently isn't in today, which means that I suppose it will have to wait until after the new year. Irritating, but these things happen.

I've been on a soothing trip hop/ electronica kick. Moby, Portishead, and related have been in heavy circulation, because as much as I enjoy Chirstmas music (yes, I sing along when I'm alone in the apartment or in JeepZilla) I find it too distracting when trying to concentrate.



But last night, after randomly deciding to drive out to my parents' with a poppyseed cake I had intended to take out today (to make up for missing my dad's birthday last week-- my dad's tastes are such that his favorites make me feel like I'm whipping up something from the 1955 Betty Crocker cookbook), I heard what I consider the DEFINING carol. Because it's bizarre and hilarious and uncomfortable and... oddly sweet-- just the way that Christmas usually is. So it can be Christmas now.

Rollercoaster! Of fluuuuuuuu! (say what?) Rollercoaster! Of fluu-uuu-uuuu

I felt better-- not great, by any stretch of the imagination, but better-- yesterday. Today? Down again. Major chest congestion. Disgusting.

Happy St. Nicholas day. I miss my best St. Nicholas present ever, my LucyCat. In a pretty awful coincidence I've been bombarded by the most painful commercial ever three times so far this morning. The Sarah McLaughlin ASPCA commercial that can leave me a sobbing mess on a good day? Not the thing I needed to see.

On the plus side, my meager Christmas shopping is half done. Maybe a little more. Dad's birthday present also made it here just in the nick of time. Thank god for the intertubes. I wish my family was a little easier to shop for, or that I had a little more money to get them what they really want, what they really need, or something really great. Someday maybe. I was in the grocery store yesterday, and even in my neighborhood, they were playing Christmas songs. I'm apparently 6, because the Muppet version of the 12 Days of Christmas made me smile like an idiot and linger to the end while perusing cat treats.