Will Blog for Hobbies

My latest soaps

2006-09-02T14:33:00.000-04:00

After ordering yet another batch of soapmaking supplies, I am back with an update. I am still getting the hang of things - especially additives and fragrances - but I think I did much better on my second soapmaking attempt. Observe:

This is a tea tree and oregano bar, probably my favorite of the ones I've made so far. It's hard to tell from this picture, but most of the oregano settled to the bottom (well, floated to the top when it was in the mold, but it's on the bottom of the bar). I was disappointed at first, but it actually looks cool with a dark green base. I was also pleasantly surprised by the smell; I used a recipe for this bar, and I was a bit skeptical about the combination of tea tree oil and oregano. Sadly, the tea tree scent seems to be wearing off, leaving the bar to smell almost entirely like herbs.

This is a pale green bar with lavender and sweet orange fragrances; it's my favorite smell of the soaps I've made (and yes, I use essential oils straight from the plant). The brown grains on top are apricot seeds, which are natural exfoliants. They sank in the mold, but the effect was kinda cool. The bar is a guest soap, meaning it's less than half the size of the other two bars; the close-up photo just makes it look similar in size.

No special exfoliants or herbs in this one, but there are three essential oils in it: lavender, chamomile, and a hint of sweet orange. The cream color has a hint of peach in it.

Mischief. Mayhem. Soap.

2006-08-24T20:51:00.000-04:00

I have created soap.

Well, let me rephrase that: I have melted, dyed, scented, and molded soap; I'm not dedicated enough to create soap from scratch and expose myself to hazardous chemicals. The fashioning of the soap is very easy, but it's going to take some practice to learn when and how it's appropriate to add or marble colors and ingredients, and to figure out just how much fragrance I need.

I apologize for the bad lighting in the photo, but really, a better shot isn't necessary. The shot depicts how fuschia my dye turned out to be, and even though it's hard to tell that the things floating in the first bar are dried pink rose petals, it's rather clear that they are not, in fact, pink. Or dry. Because, ladies and gentlemen, when you add a dry herb to a very hot liquid, chances are it's not going to retain its original color. Obviously, I did not put much thought into this; now I've got to learn to make potpourri in order to use up the giant bag of rose petals I obtained (and I don't even like potpourri).

Both bars, fortunately, are more attractive in person. The first bar actually fades from pink to clear, rather than the ugly yellow in the photo. And the second bar is paler than depicted (and yes, it is supposed to be spotted and marbly; that looks better in person, too). Also, both are lightly rose-scented. I'm not horribly displeased, but I think in the future I'd prefer to do bars that are healthier for the skin, with essential oils and exfoliants and stuff like that. And I'll probably lay off the fuschia.

My first soapmaking experience was not quite as fun as I'd hoped, but I liked it enough to pursue it further. Besides, I have already learned multiple valuable lessons, like you have to pay attention to how long you melt the dye bar because the acrid burning smell will fill your lungs and make you choke and want to throw up. Oh man...good times.

(Yes Jason, the subject line was for you.)

Scrubbing up for my next undertaking

2006-08-14T18:38:00.000-04:00

I am happy to report that my hobby quest is not dead; it just got put on hiatus. Unfortunately, I don't have an awesome update about a spontaneous bungee-jumping or rock-climbing expedition, but I have decided on my next undertaking: soapmaking.

You know, I really shouldn't have preceded that with a hobby as daring as bungee jumping; now it sounds bland. But seriously, I have done a lot of research on soapmaking and determined that it would be a good fit. It's a bit like cooking in that you have to find the right balance of ingredients: soap base, colorants, oils, fragrances, herbs, etc. But it also gives a lot of leeway for creativity and experimentation. What am I going to do with all of that soap? I have no idea. But the reward is in the making, not the final product.

I can't say for sure when I'm going to tackle this new activity, as I'm going on vacation soon. But know that I haven't slacked off in my pursuit, and I will spend the next few weeks brainstorming and stocking up on materials. Hooray for soap!

P.S. I realized the link to my profile was missing; I've added it to my sidebar, and now people can actually view it. Not that they've really been missing out.

I blame the thyme.

2006-07-09T22:59:00.000-04:00

No, I am not slacking off in my resolve to find new hobbies. I am simply putting it on hiatus. I'm getting a new apartment in a week and moving everything I own the week after that, so unless you count packing, hauling, unpacking, and impulsively purchasing cheap home furnishings at IKEA as hobbies, the only thing I really have to write about at this juncture is cooking. (And believe me, when it gets down to those last few days before we move, I won't be doing that, either.)

A few days ago, I used my grill pan for shrimp. I was really excited for this particular meal: lemon-garlic shrimp kebobs, orzo with feta and tomatoes, grilled red peppers, and a mixed greens salad. But you know those meals that don't pan out quite as well as they do in your head? Yeah. It was one of those. Now, the shrimp looked good, as you can see:

But it tasted like crap. It was overcooked, and I didn't like the marinade; I think the recipe called for too much thyme. Now, I don't expect four-star cuisine every time I try something new, but to have your main course flop like that is disheartening.

The one redeeming aspect of the meal was the orzo, which I have never made before. It's a small, rice-shaped pasta that I combined with chunks of tomato, feta, parsley, and garlic. (The recipe I found called for green beans as well, but it didn't sound quite as appetizing that way.) Not only was it delicious, but it could totally fill the role of comfort food. There was something so soothing about it that it almost made me forget the amount of time I spent chopping and mincing and squeezing countless ingredients for that shrimp marinade.

...Almost. Argh.

Me vs. salmon skin

2006-06-29T20:55:00.000-04:00

Today I cooked fresh fish. For the first time ever.

I used to like salmon; all that changed when I had to skin a fillet. Okay, no, I still like salmon. But fish skin? I don't think it's meant to be separated from the meat, honestly. So that was an adventure. I'm surprised I didn't lop off my finger with my chef's knife.

Anyway, the menu for tonight was salmon seared in a pepper crust, roasted redskins with rosemary (check out that alliteration), and baby spinach and red leaf with toasted sesame ginger dressing. I chilled the salmon in a marinade of soy sauce, fresh lemon juice, minced garlic, and a bit of sugar; it smelled SO GOOD. I keep wanting to say the meal was difficult to make, but I think that was largely due to the skinning experience. And everything turned out okay; see?

We topped it off with a glass of white wine that has left me feeling delightfully lightheaded.

I also forgot to mention a meal earlier this week in which I used the latest addition to my kitchen: a grill pan! This is a must-have for any apartment-dweller. Moreso than a Foreman grill, which can fit maybe two hot dogs and has the tendency to suck a piece of meat dry. Not to mention it's a huge pain to clean. Or so I've heard; I cook, so I'm not the one who has to do the dishes. :) But a grill pan! How did I live without it before?

Stuff on the grill pan. Yeah, I'm all about the redskins.

Dance Dance Retrospective

2006-06-28T19:30:00.000-04:00

I now have Dance Dance Revolution in my living room.

I'm not sure there's anyone, at least in my age group, who doesn't know what it is. But to avoid confusion, I will clarify. It's a Japanese arcade game based on a dance pad that you stand on, and you step on four different directional arrows (sychronized to a particular dance song) as shown on the game screen. Here's a picture.

Around the time it became a huge trend in the U.S. (I want to say around the year 2000?), I tried it with a friend at an arcade. The instructions were in Japanese, leaving us with no clue as to what to do, and we quickly lost the game without ever figuring it out.

Recently, I tried it once again with my boyfriend. I have no idea why it was so hard for me to follow before, as the premise was simple. We worked up a sweat after dancing to five straight songs in an already sweltering arcade, and I was hooked. I am mad at myself for having been missing it all this time.

Yesterday, we bought the game. I have spent two afternoons quasi-dancing to songs like "Get Busy" and "Play That Funky Music," and all I have to do is move my coffee table and unfold the mat that came with the game. If only all exercise could be so fun! The only downside is the fact that the mat is soft and will shift occasionally, and I have no concept of where my feet are centered, so I will sometimes miss steps because my feet have shifted too far to one side. Maybe one day, I will get one of these...

iMaddicted

2006-06-26T20:42:00.000-04:00

Can I be the first to nominate downloading iTunes as an official hobby? You can consider me hooked.

iTunes is the perfect setup for a person like me. In pursuing new music for my collection, I work on a song-by-song basis. If I don't know much by an artist, I don't want an entire album. I want the song that I like the sound of before I ever consider the album. Or maybe I do know more of the artist's material, but rather than downloading Jimmy Buffet's greatest hits, I just want to have "Margaritaville" and "Cheeseburger in Paradise" to enhance my music library (because, let's face it, they are a necessity).

With iTunes, the classic songs I could never (legally) obtain without investing in an album are now at my fingertips. Yes, now I can own the Breakfast Club song, the one that everyone can sing along with ("Hey hey HEY HEY") but not identify (Simple Minds – "Don't You Forget About Me"). And of course, there are the guilty pleasures that I'd rather no one know about but will name for the sake of this blog post (Kylie Minogue – "Can't Get You out of My Head").

Fueling my addiction are iMixes, user-submitted playlists of varying themes. I find myself perusing "Best of the '90s" mixes and downloading Deep Blue Something's "Breakfast at Tiffany's" out of pure nostalgia, even though everyone can agree (albeit reluctantly) that it's a crappy song. I look at a classic rock playlist and think, "'Smoke on the Water'! That is exactly what my music collection has been missing." And this week, for the first time ever, I downloaded a song that iTunes recommended for me based on my previous downloads (Joshua Radin - "Winter").

You may laugh, but some day, my music collection will be the epitome of awesomeness. So now, if you'll excuse me, I have a lineup of Journey, Glenn Miller, Gnarls Barkley, and Vivaldi to enjoy.

Crab cakey goodness

2006-06-21T20:42:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I think that calling cooking a hobby is cheating because it's something I have to do in order to eat. The other part of me argues that I could just as soon pick up food, order in, or throw some frozen crap into the oven. Regardless, I would probably suck at cooking so much more if not for my mom, who is not only awesome at it, but also puts up with my last-minute phone calls to find out how much of an ingredient to use or how long I should put something in the oven or whether it's bad that my stove is smoking.

One of my favorite things to make is something I picked up from my mom, a crab cake salad with homemade lemon-garlic-dijon dressing. The dressing is pretty much what it sounds like, plus a few more ingredients:

Throw (small amounts of) them together with some salt and pepper, refrigerate to set and enhance the flavors, and voila. Your condiment du soir.

The rest of the meal is even more straightforward, or at least for me. I will admit I am not motivated enough to try and make my own crab cakes; I buy them at the grocery store, and they still taste good. But my mom uses a recipe from Schuler's Cookbook: Fresh Recipes and Warm Memories* for "the perfect crab cake," which lives up to its name. I don't recall the specifics of the recipe, only that it requires approximately 2.7 billion ingredients and always prompts my mom to lament the amount of time and effort she spent slaving away over a few slabs of seafood.

Anyway, you cook up the crab cakes with some vegetable oil and plop them onto a bed of lettuce or greens; I prefer romaine. Stir the dressing well, drizzle it over the salad in cautious amounts, and voila:

Not only is it easy and delicious, but something about the combination of seafood, greens and homemade dressing makes it seem gourmet somehow. Or maybe that's just me.

*I actually did some publicity work for this cookbook when I was a publishing company intern. Schuler's is a fine-dining-type restaurant in Marshall, Michigan. Fellow Michiganders may be familiar with its locally famous treats, Schuler's Bar-Scheeze and Win Schuler's meatballs.

Thus begins the hobby hunt

2006-06-20T18:22:00.000-04:00

My life seems to be a reduction of its former self. I don't know exactly what's different now, as I have never had a life packed with excitement and intrigue, but I suspect that the feeling comes from this post-college period in which I am essentially settling down. I go to work, I come home and hop on the computer, I cook dinner, and I spend time with my boyfriend when he gets home. Extra time is usually spent on one of my existing hobbies (see the sidebar to your left) or occasionally hanging out with friends.

My existing hobbies, in case you hadn't noticed, aren't that exciting. And maybe whatever new ones I find won't be, either. But I think that in pursuing new things, I will acquire some sense of self-fulfillment - or, at the very least, a different way to pass the time.

In posting about my adventures here, I have a motivational tool to keep me going. If I slack off on my hobby pursuit, I will deprive my faithful readers of their anticipated updates! And by "faithful readers," I mean my mom. Except she doesn't know how to use the internet. So...just scratch that altogether.

I also intend to post developments on my current hobbies. I like to take photos all the time, even when there is nothing to photograph, and I need a place to share my senseless picture-snapping. I also need a place to post photos of what I had for dinner last night in order to fully gain the sense of accomplishment that comes with once again producing a meal that is edible and possibly even somewhat attractive. And I want a forum in which I can argue that logically positioning numbers on a small 9x9 grid can indeed be counted as a hobby, thus enabling me to make my hobby list look longer.

So here is my new venue for all of that stuff. Bearing in mind that I like independent, indoor hobbies best, please feel free to offer suggestions. As you may have noticed, I will blog for hobbies.