Pears @ MindSay 
Dixie currently feels:
Neutral
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Ah, it's been a long time.
Blog, I have neglected you so.
So, the last time I blogged was exactly a week ago.
So what eventful has happened this past week?
- Well, I've completed Parappa The Rapper. I still need to get the 'cool' ranking on level 6 before I can unlock the bonus level. - Which is hard, because the music of level 6 is really hard to follow.
I don't know if it's my eyes - but my font looks weird today.
It doesn't look right...
Oh well, we'll cope. It's Arial red, it's supposed to be my font, anyway.
Through the week at school, it's only been revision, because the exams are starting this Friday with the first one.
My first one is in a week's time - and then I have three weeks of exams.
One thing though, I've got out of my depressional spiral.
I'm not harming every day like I was.
I'm not crying as much.
I seem to be crying more and more as I get older.
Maybe that's just the stress adding to things.
And I've made up my friendships with both Stephen and Claire - we were all sat together today in the library talking - poking pencils through a pear, before we lobbed it at Carl, and it shattered all over the place.
- And we got shouted at for that, too.
Then I started licking my hand, because it tasted nice, and Pips was filming me really close up on her phone - and it looks really pornographic and wrong.
She's threatened to put it on YouTube - but if she does, I'll kick her teeth in. :)
I walked home with Pips and Miraan - and I ate some leaves off the trees.
I wish I hadn't though, because I've got an upset stomach now.
I've had to use the bathroom twice, so far - but the first time, the spicy salaminis I ate last night sorta repeated on me. - How it burned, and how I whined.
The leaves were horrible - the green ones all got stuck in my teeth, and Miraan moaned at me because I kept spitting.
I wasn't spitting AT him though!
Adam stayed over on Saturday just passed.
I have this little water game I won in a 2p machine in Southend, and I took the plug off the back, and I went to flick it at him, but it never came out.
So he got it off me, cornered me in the gap between my bed and the wardrobe and poured it on my face.
I was sad.
Then he kept getting me with the water pistol I stupidly filled up.
Either way - I watched him get right to the final area on Resident Evil 3 - we decided to start again, seeing as how we knew where everything was this time.
He's left it here, in my PS1, and I wanna play it. but I'm scared. :)
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Today's song lyrics:
Only This Moment - Royksopp
Forces within me, makes reason with lust...
But I try to accept it and not think it works...
Because I know I might lose you by taking the chance...
But love without pain isn't really romance...
Only this moment... (Holds us together)...
Close to perfection... (Nothing is out there)...
Always beside us... (Trusting my senses)...
Deep down inside... (I know I will survive)...
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So the big talk today is that we are going to send more troops to Iraq. Perhaps that will bring some stability to the region and keep the different factions from fighting in the street so the government take control. Hey, you know who used to have a lot of troops in Iraq? Saddam. You know who kept the different factions from fighting in the street? Saddam. And like him or not, his government was definately in control! Now I'm not supporting his policies and I'm definately anti-genocide but I don't think letting the Sunnis and Shiites kill off half of each other is much more humane. (Sorry to snub you Kurds, but your kill totals just aren't up to snuff.)
It must have been horrible to live in fear of a tyrrinical leader could have you killed at any moment. But I think it must be pretty unsettling to have him gone and live in fear of a good percentage of the population that could have you killed at any moment. I wonder how the change affects the Iraqi people on a day to day basis? I picture one saying, "When Saddam was in charge I would walk to the store and there would be only one government run paper to get my news. Now there are many free papers, but my legs were blown off so I don't walk to the store."
My point is: maybe a free democracy that will sell the U.S. oil for a song isn't the best form of government for Iraq at this time. They seem to funtion well under strong leadership. Perhaps some interum wise-shirtless King who can unify the people and ease them into democracy would work. I know it's a tall order, but I'm sure we could could get a couple of reality TV producers there to work on it. Or we could get all retro and turn over control of Iraq to the Pope for a few years; could that be worse? World politics was never an area of expertise for me...until I became a blogger!
TIP: D'anjou pears are tasty this time of year. Make sure they give way to gentle poking pressure before buying.
-Ed
I chose "Pear Tarte - Medieval Pear Pie". I found it here.
Here is the recipe:
Quoted from the site: "I have translated this from The English Huswife by Gervase Markham 1615 AD. It's unusual in that before this time pies were almost always made with a single crust while this one has two. Often a two crusted pie was called a coffin in that time period. Rosewater can be found in most healthfood stores or Middle Eastern groceries in the US."
1 hour 10 min prep Serves: 8
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3 cups dry white wine (I, Rebekah, personally used White Vermouth. Never ever USE cooking wine)
1 cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
4-5 whole cloves
3 lbs firm ripe pears, bosc work well
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon rose water
double crust pie crusts
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Topping
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon rose water
1 tablespoon sugar
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1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine wine and 1 cup sugar in large heavy pot over medium heat.
3. Stir until sugar dissolved.
4. Add cinnamon and cloves.
5. Peel pears, cut in half from top to bottom and remove core.
6. Add pears to wine mixture and cook for about 5-7 minutes or until pears are just tender.
7. Remove pears from syrup.
8. Turn up heat on wine and bring to a rolling boil.
9. Place bottom crust into pie pan.
10. Top with sliced pears.
11. Sprinkle pears with ¼ Cup sugar.
12. Remove spices from wine syrup.
13. Add 1 Tsp rose water to wine syrup mix well.
14. Take 1/3 C of wine syrup and pour over pears.
15. Place top crust on pie sealing edges by folding crust over edge of the bottom crust and pressing.
16. Cut vent hole into center of pie and place pie on center rack in oven.
17. Bake for 20 minutes then remove from oven.
18. Melt 1 Tbsp butter and ½ tsp rose water then brush this mixture on top of pie.
19. Sprinkle with tablespoon of sugar and return to oven.
20. Bake for another 20 minutes or until pie is golden brown.
AND VIOLA!
This was to finish up the Nutella jar.
I deciced to make dessert tonight in order to finish up the jar of Nutella and it started with poaching some pears in some cranberry juice in order to give them a pink tint.
Next came the Nutella and a package of puffed pastry some Nutella and an egg wash.
Both this recipe and the recipe for the Crepes can be found over at chefhester