home is where the brownies are

Hola from La Jolla (pronounced La Hoya for the 0.001% of you who aren't fluent in Spanish). I've a got a little coldy, and it is curiously overcast, and United lost my luggage but that doesn't stop sunny San Diego from being relaxing and fun. For one thing, the airline is going to reimburse me so I got to go on a cool replace-my-stuff shopping trip and I am now the proud owner of madras shorts (damn you, Amherst!!...pass the cognac, will you, Winchester?), one of those floor-length dressthings (and by 'things' I mean 'es'), a new swimsuit (highlighter yellow top/hot pink bottom), and those flip-flops Rachel has ... all courtesy of Target.

So far I've been spending my days having coffee at Pannikin (the local Rao's type outfit) across the street from my dad's apartment and poking around the adjacent antique bookstore (so indie...*shakes bangs into face*). It's weird adjusting to not only not having my home at Amherst but also not living in my home of 15+ years here in SD. While I was finishing up this past semester, my mom and dad moved out of our condo and into my dad's apartment, and we are now sprucing up the condo to rent out to students and the like to make some extra mulah. The apartment is nice enough, and it is in a really cool area of the city, but its not my home, you know?

To quote Selena from two years ago on a certain strange April day, "What is home?"
I don't know baby, but its not where I am. Home existed in the past and I hope it just leapt out of the present for a bit so that I would be extra happy to meet it again in the future. I'm sure that's the case. Until then, the happy idyll of tourism in a very pleasant city is where I'll be.

I am drinking this


and playing with this


and I love this

that is to say, you.

happy trails

Chapman goes to Valencia

Hi friends!

I love this blog. Selena, I love your genius.

All is well in Spain. I am here for a week with my mom, grandmother, older sister and younger brother before traveling on to France to meet Monty. We have spent the last few days in Valencia, moving at a snail´s pace as my grandmother takes tiny steps down the streets and stops to comment on everything from Catalan architecture to bird poo. But the trip has been amazing because my grandmother lived in Valencia for four years under Franco, after the Spanish Civil War. (She was born here, fled to Mexico when she was three, returned after the war when she was 12, and then moved back to Mexico for good when she was 16.) She keeps surfacing all these incredible stories and memories that I´ve never heard before. A few examples: Today we went swimming in the Mediterranean and she told us that, when she was 13, she almost drowned at the very same beach because she accidentally stepped into a crater in the ocean where a bomb had dropped during the war. Or we visited the park where she used to go on Sundays with her sister to walk, and she was awed because she saw a couple holding hands -- something totally forbidden under Franco. When we went to Valencia´s mercado central, she told me that the first time that she returned to Spain after Franco fell, all she wanted to do was go to markets because she was so excited by the abundance of food that Spain now had.

So it´s a real trip traveling with my little Spanish grandmother. Also, today we went to a zoo and saw a bunch of monkeys getting it on. When I asked my grandmother what she thought about that, she said, ¨Well, that male monkey didn´t take very long. That female monkey should turn around and tell him, `hey mister, not so fast!´¨. Words of the wise.

There is so much I could write but I should get to sleeping. I have stayed distracted enough not to dwell on our graduation. Even so, I catch myself thinking about Chapman at down times -- before I fall asleep, when I´m walking alone, etc. I had a terrible time sleeping the first nights after I left Amherst -- and we all know that something must be up if Destry can´t fall asleep. I heart you from Spain.

Reporting from a not so short island.

hello guys!
this is the very first time i have been involved in a blog of any sort, and i think it might be true that it would take no less than the chapman "womb of love" to motivate me to participate in these sorts of technologically demanding activities.
selena - how's progress on making the blog header appear less sauced? any success? i am by no means only a one-time accepter of commissions.
i am currently seated on the carpet of bill's livingroom. he is in an armchair on my left, alanna is studying a map and sharing a couch with bill's mom who is looking for potential bill-jobs (do these exist?) on my right, and bill's dad was in an armchair directly across from me but just arose to put the handy dandy dishwasher into action. yeaaa, we are all full of salmony flavored fish that he cooked tonight.
"guuuys, stop blogging and looking at computers and maps and let's do something funnnn." -b.
alright, alas, i have no successfully modified recipes (bb brownies mmm) or questionably edible breakfast mixes (rose, i would have been happily eating your creation next to you) to post on here.
but, i do have one last thing:
_ _ _
/ \_/ \_/ \
l l
U U U U U
( ( ( (
) ) ) )
( ( ( (
) ) ) )

A JELLYFISH! yay!

love, jess

chapman forever!

Hi all ! Hope everyone is doing well wherever you are, from Connecticut to España. We really have exploded from the center (Amherst) and out into the world in all sorts of crazy directions, like a firecracker! I'm so excited to here about everyone's adventures.
These days, my life is not so exciting, I must admit. But it has been wonderfully and lovefully lazy, which I've needed badly. (Well, except for that time when we walked to Noho... ) Mostly, I've been hanging out around Chapman with Selena Rosie and Cait. Jess left to NYC with Bill yesterday and Becky arrives Friday from Florida (via train!). Yesterday I became super sick randomly. I had it all from a raging fever to full body aches. It was not a good time, but luckily I had lots of pretty people to lay around the house with and recuperate. Cait made us an awesome veggie chicken pasta dish and Rosie made a wicked good chocolate cake with blueberries - muy delicioso! I drank lots of liquids (throat coat!) and after a good nights rest, I'm feeling much much better (but not good enough to go to work today.. hehe). Cait and Chris just left to take Rose to the airport and the Xie family has departed on their way down South. The house is weirdly quiet - no sounds of Selena padding around the house packing up her life (buttcrack and all!), no Tony to be found in the living room watching sketchy R.Kelly videos, no offensive curse words to be heard coming from Rosie's room...
I'm sitting in Becky's disaster of a room downstairs. Outside, the birds are chirping sweetly and the rain is coming down lightly. The greenery outside her window is the lushest I've ever seen it. Maybe later I'll take a walk into town. Or lie in bed with Cait all day reading. and so, the point of this story is-

I miss you guys.
chapmanly yours, Carms

Black Bean Brownies! And Funny Video

Hi Loves,

Selena (i.e. the Blog Police) just called to tell me today was my day! I've got it down now -- I promise I won't be latish anymore...

Anyways dears -- two things:

1) I was thinking that now you have nobody to make you black bean brownies, and that you should learn to make them yourselves and spread the chocolatey beany love. SO, below is the original recipe, and the ** indicates my changes, which I think makes them better. :)

Ingredients
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 cup unsalted butter **1/4 cup butter, 1/4+ cup plain yogurt (non- or low-fat), 1/4- olive oil**
2 cups soft-cooked black beans, drained well (hs: canned is fine)
1 cup walnuts, chopped **1/2 cup walnuts (I just don’t put in walnut chunks**
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ cup (granulated) natural coffee substitute (or instant coffee, for gluten-sensitive)
¼ teaspoon sea salt
4 large eggs
1½ cups light agave nectar **3/4 cups agave nectar or honey**

Process
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line an 11- by 18-inch (rimmed) baking pan (hs note: or jellyroll pan) with parchment paper and lightly oil with canola oil spray. **I like 9x9 better; the brownies are too thin otherwise... and never used parchment paper... Don’t have any! Just put LOTS of butter**

Melt the chocolate and butter in a glass bowl in the microwave for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on high. Stir with a spoon to melt the chocolate completely. Place the beans, 1/2 cup **that is, all of the walnuts** of the walnuts, the vanilla extract, and a couple of spoonfuls **usually need more than a couple spoonfuls for successful blending** of the melted chocolate mixture into the bowl of a food processor. Blend about 2 minutes, or until smooth. The batter should be thick and the beans smooth. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the remaining 1/2 cup walnuts,**so, no walnuts here** remaining melted chocolate mixture, coffee substitute, and salt. Mix well and set aside.

In a separate bowl, with an electric mixer beat the eggs until light and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the agave nectar **and the yogurt and olive oil** and beat well. Set aside.

Add the bean/chocolate mixture to the coffee/chocolate mixture. Stir until blended well.

Add the egg mixture, reserving about 1/2 cup. Mix well. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Using an electric mixer, beat the remaining 1/2 cup egg mixture until light and fluffy. Drizzle over the brownie batter. Use a wooden toothpick to pull the egg mixture through the batter, creating a marbled effect. **This part is beyond me. Plus, I put yogurt and olive oil in the egg part, so I just pour it all in and forget the marbling** Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the brownies are set.**Or until a toothpick/fork comes out cleanish** Let cool in the pan completely before cutting into squares. (They will be soft until refrigerated.) **Way easier to cut and more delicious and fudgy chilled... I don't know, recently I've started liking them warm/hot.**

**AND: something I haven't tried yet, but you should -- mix in a box or two of raspberries or your favorite berries into the batter as the last step before pouring into the baking dish. One other note: you can really use any kind of beans you have -- they don't have to be black beans.**

Makes 45 (2-inch) brownies.

And, 2) Some video humor. If you have not yet seen the video/song "Dick in a Box," watch it FIRST: http://www.hulu.com/watch/1596/saturday-night-live-dick-in-a-box-uncensored. Then, watch the sequel, "Mother Lover" -- http://www.hulu.com/watch/72434/saturday-night-live-digital-short-motherlover-censored.

Love and miss you all! Definitely already feeling nostalgia for Chapman. AND: Milo is sitting right here and says hi to everyone!

Muah,
Megan

chapman too

I can't wait for my day!
I am still here, getting ready to head out tomorrow. We are in this strange limbo period. It's like I haven't left yet...because I haven't. Graduation and all that hasn't hit me yet, maybe it will on the plane, maybe it will in thirty years when I have eight kids and I can't remember their names because I'm too busy wondering if I left my sheets here.
Selena's parents and Tony are chilling in the common room. Janitors and random people have been in and out, but none seem to have the authority or care to kick me and my shit out of my room.
I was contemplating a Rao's run to sit and sip coffee and have my last raspberry oat muffin, but instead decided to eat everything in the kitchen and make myself the Ethiopian Harrar that I purchased for the family brunch, which is from Rao's anyway.
I am waiting for the posts that begin with, "so now I'm in the tiny village of blank, thousands of miles away from any other civilization, and yet somehow I have a computer and can tell you of my hut-building adventures," but until that happens I will entertain you with a description of my breakfast.

Rosie's Last Hurrah Exciting Breakfast Yogurt

In a small bowl, mix thoroughly:
1 cup yogurt
1 spoonful ground ethiopian harrar coffee beans from Rao's
1 spoonful confectioner's sugar
1 spoonful 'Better n' Peanut Butter'
3 spoonfuls hot chocolate mix
garnish with frozen blackberries and shame

...honey might be good in this
also, eating straight coffee grounds is only mildly unpleasant and makes you pretty hyper immediately, very effective for a little morning jolt.
however, in the future, I would omit the peanut butter substitute, because not only is it unnecessary, but it also tastes like crap....live and learn right?

love you girls.

Life Post: The Beginning

"I’d like to fly off on a broom and to dance with other pagan witches in the forest to the light of the moon, invoking the might of the earth and forcing away demons, I want to become a wise old woman, to learn the ancient spells and secrets of healers. It’'s not something small that I want to achieve. Witches, like saints, are solitary stars that shine with their own light, they don’t depend on anything or anyone, which is why they lack fear and they can throw themselves blindly into the abyss with the certainty that instead of hitting the ground they will come out flying. They can convert themselves into birds to see the world from above or into worms to see the world from inside, they can exist in other dimensions and travel to other galaxies, they are navigators in an infinite ocean of consciousness and knowledge." - Isabel Allende

We are witches and we are birds and cats. Meow. Hi friends. This is the first post of the Post Chapman Blog, and I know we've (or, I've) talked a lot about it, but I wanted to explain why I had this idea. When practically everyone was abroad our Junior fall year, I remember feeling so friend-sick. And then, I would receive an email from Destry or Rachel or Megan. My face would lighten up and a surge of warmth-love would fill my body. Remember Beauty and the Beast, Disney's version? While the Beast was turning into the Prince and that light pierced his body from the inward outward? That's what I felt like, every time!! I want to glow everyday! So that's why.

Anyway so here is my life post: I'm sitting in bed eating a crab/artichoke/red pepper casserole I made from leftover Wine and Cheese ingredients. Cait is lying in my bed watching Matilda. Hannah is on my couch sending important emails. Carmzella is cleaning the kitchen. Jessie and Rosie are sleeping. I snuck a photo at the Carms and Jess sleeping this morning. It feels like another Saturday morning in Chapman, but without everyone, it feels more like visiting in this inbetween house. We're going to walk to Noho today and find the mystery swimming hole. And then when we get back, we're going to light incense all over the house to cleanse it or some spiritual Carmella shit. I still haven't heard about the job, but we'll know soon and I'll let everyone know!!!


Why is Jess wearing that on her hand?