I have been really busy with classes, and actually haven't been able to go out and explore as much as I'd like. Of course if I had it my way I would never sleep and always be doing something!
Last I left my blog, I had gone surfing with my good friends Renee and Jason from Hawaii. The first time I went,I had great success because I was using a long surfboard (10 ft) made of fiberglass so it was very rigid. The next weekend we went, I felt daring and tried an 8 ft surfboard, but it was foam and kind of flimsy. I wasn't able to stand up once!! It was so frustrating but then again 2 ft is a big reduction for someone who just started.
A few days later, they came over to my place because they wanted to learn how to make tabouli salad! If you aren't familiar (i.e. not from Detroit) its a mid east salad made from finely chopped parsely. Oh man it was a blast! I didn't know I was so good at making it either! I have pictures that I will post to my Picasa account but right now am having trouble opening them.
Also, I made friends with a guy named Carlos who interned at Ford and who's mom is from Michigan. He's become my car buddy. I visited the old car museum with him and a few weeks back we went to see the Nethercut Collection which is basically an antique car museum plus old organs, nickelodeans, and a bunch of crazy antique collectables. It was really cool.
http://www.nethercuttcollection.org/
So the one girl in my Linear Algebra class who speaks english and I made friends and she has been a blast. Her name is Anapuma, shes indian but you would never guess it by the way she acts (ahhaha). Anyway she lives near Santa Monica and knows all the good places to go. A few weeks ago we went to Rodeo Drive and Beverly Hills. Really its just a glorified Somerset Collection! But it is beautiful. People there are also hilarious as you can imagine...really California.
We had cupcakes at this cupcake bakery called "Sprinkles" and for $3.25 I had my own delicious Red Velvet with cheesecake frosting...omg my teeth hurt. Some guy bought 6 for $19 which is ridiculous to me, but the concept is nice and novel. My cupcake:
This weekend I am going home to visit Michigan since it will be Kris and I's 5 year anniversary. Yes 5 YEARS! Crazy!! We are going out to dinner with friends tomorrow night (Friday) and Saturday morning we are going to the apple orchard with my pup Roxy. Honestly I am more excited to see Roxy than anything else. She is my favorite creature in the whole world.
Anyway I just wanted to jot something down here so no one thought I abandoned this. I promise it will stay current from now on!
Ugh the middle eastern food here in Chicago is sooooo bad! Everyone just thinks I am talking about Greek food. I haven't found one Lebanese place, Iraqi place, etc.
ReplyDeleteWhat I am really trying to say is: Can you give me your recipe for tabouli salad?
:)
Hey Turk! Sure, here it is! It is fun but is messy and time consuming:
ReplyDelete3 bunches parsley
2 small tomoatoes (Roma I think, the ovalish kind)
1 bunch of green onion
1 bunch of mint
2 cloves garlic
1 lemon
cracked wheat
salt, pepper, olive oil
Wash everything well.
Boil a about 4 cups of water. When water is boiled, pour over 1/3- 1/2 cup of cracked wheat. Let sit to absorb water.
Separate the parsley leaves from steps (This will take a while). With a sharp knife, finely chop the parsley. It helps to try to press a bunch together to chop. Parsley should be very fine. It seems to get too watery with a food processor, so by hand is better.
Finely chop entire bunch of green onion and add to parsley in a large bowl.
Chop tomatoes into quarters, and remove seeds and gooey parts. Chop the rest into small cubes and add to parsley and onion.
Finely chop mint and add to mixture.
Squeeze juice of entire lemon and add to mixture.
Mix the fresh ingredients. Strain cracked wheat from water using hands. Add a small amount of cracked wheat to parsley and mix well. Keep adding cracked wheat to your liking (I usually use all of it, but some like more or less).
Add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.
Let chill in fridge for about a half hour and eat!!