K= Kalamari

Recipe From: http://www.cookbooks4sale.com/displayRecipe.php?rid=18171&by=alpha

Kalamari

1/2 Lb. Squid, Cleaned and Dressed Salt & Pepper to Taste Garlic Salt or Garlic Powder to Taste 1 Egg, Beaten 1/2 to 1 Cup Flour 3/4 Cup Olive Oil Lemon Juice

You will need about 8 legs and 8 bodies of the squid. I buy squid that is already cleaned and the tentacle (legs) and bodies are separated. Squid that is already cleaned and dressed can be found at most supermarkets. Some packages may have more legs than bodies or vice versa. Wash squid and pat dry. Then coat with egg and dip in flour, sprinkle with seasonings. Pour oil in frying pan on medium-high and let it get hot before putting squid in. Be careful of splatters from oil. Fry until golden brown and sprinkle each piece with lemon juice. Makes 6 to 8 Servings.

·  1/2 Lb. Squid, Cleaned and Dressed: I remember when my family ordered kalamari at a restaurant and my sisters didn't know what it was. The look on their faces was absolutely priceless when they found out it was squid and they were couldn't believe my parents and i were actually eating it! They still haven't tried kalamari no matter how many times we order it.

·  Salt & Pepper to Taste: Whenever I help my mom cook food for thanksgiving and other holidays she always lets me be the last taste-tester. She always wants my opinion about whether there is enough salt and pepper or if there is too much. I love helping her in the kitchen and especially tasting all her delicious food!

·  Garlic Salt or Garlic Powder to Taste: My mom is obsessed with getting all sorts of crazy kitchen gadgets and one time she brought home a garlic chopper that made it really fast and easy to cut garlic and onions. My sisters tried it out and it didn't work very well. Of course they managed to break it. My mom was really upset that it didn't work out very well but we did end up being able to fix it. We haven't used that garlic chopper in a long time.

·  1 Egg, Beaten: I remember wondering why my mom's scrambled eggs always tasted so much better than the kind they give you at restaurants and hotels. She told me that she put a secret ingredient in them and that's what made them taste a lot better. She showed me how to make them and then add in cheese before they're done cooking  and it gives them so much more flavor. I was so excited and I liked it so much so now I make scrambled eggs for myself all the time.

·  1/2 to 1 Cup Flour: A couple years ago when we were making an apple pie for thanksgiving dessert my sister Sara's job was to put flour on the kitchen counter so we could roll out the dough so it wouldn't stick. She thought it would be fun to sprinkle the flour all around the counter very nicely but she started to get a little too crazy with it. She got flour in everyones hair and all over the kitchen. We laughed about it but my mom wasn't too happy when she was cleaning up the mess.

·  3/4 Cup Olive Oil: Once when my family went out to eat at an Italian restaurant the waitor gave us oil with vinegar to dip the bread in. This was the first time my sisters had seen that before and they fell in love with it. They made my mom go out and buy our own oil and vinegar to eat with our bread whenever we wanted at home. Now every time we have Italian dinners at home we eat our bread with oil and vinegar!

·  Lemon Juice: My mom and I love mexican food and we make it all the time- fajitas, tacos, salsa we love it all! She loves finding new recipes to make and once she found a new recipe for salsa that sounded really good so we wanted to try it out. Everything went well and it was tasting fine until we put in the lemon juice at the end. We were so excited to taste our new salsa but it was so sour! We couldn't eat it after that but the next time we made it we were extra careful not to put too much. It ended up tasting amazing

Famous Poem Starters

But I have promises to keep.
And miles to go before I sleep.
From Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening by Robert Frost

But I have promises to keep.
And miles to go before I sleep.
I have opportunities to fullfill,
and there's no time to stand still.
I have goals to reach,
and ideas to preach.
I have spirit to spread,
and so much that needs to be said.
I have wisdom to gain,
and I'll keep going through the pain.
I have adventures to experience
and no time for an interference.
I have so much to do,
and so much to say.
So little time,
so I'm starting today.

Nursery Rhymes ARE Relevant to Life

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~pfa/dreamhouse/nursery/rhymes/ants.html

The Ants go marching

The ants go marching one by one.

Hurrah! Hurrah!
The ants go marching one by one.

Hurrah! Hurrah!
The ants go marching one by one;

The little one stops to suck his thumb,
And they all go marching

down

into the ground

to get out

of the rain.

Boom, boom, boom!

This nursery rhyme is relevant to my life because when I was in elementary school I used to have to stay after for Y-time because my parents worked. A couple of my bestfriends and I would always go exploring near the woods around the playground. One day we found a big dirt area with tons of ant holes and hundreds of big black ants! Back then we didn't find bugs gross at all and we were so amazed by them. Everyday during Y-time we would run over to our spot by the playground and watch the ants as they ran around along the dirt. We would even pick them up and try to build our own homes for them although it didn't always work. This was where we would spend most of our time. Watching the ants fascinated us so much. It seems weird to think that I could be so intrigued by them when I was younger and now I absolutely hate bugs.

Turn your Inkblot into a Butterfly

Back in middle school

I used to think cliques were okay.

I used to think

not everyone

belonged in the same clique.

I used to pay attention

to what was "cool"

and what wasn't.

I used to be afraid of being

different.

  

 I didn't realize that being in a clique

meant leaving other poeple out.

I was blind to how my actions

might affect others.

I've come a long way since then.

Being "cool" stopped being important.

Being friends with everyone was what mattered. 

 Cliques started to become a foreign lanuage. 

I tried to include everyone

and made sure no one got left behind

because I started to understand that being a nice person meant you were cool. 

                                                                                    

Gina Peca

http://blog.timesunion.com/ginapeca/hello-its-me/4/
http://blog.timesunion.com/ginapeca/

Gina Peca describes herself as "...a 52 year old stay at home mom who is trying to find my way back into the “real” world." She keeps busy by caring for her two sons and running a cancer foundation in memory of her daughter and she is a wife of a man battling a brain tumor. "Like most parents, my husband and I have juggled soccer tournaments, basketball games, baseball games, ski club, school activities, volleyball practice and family trips." She clearly has a lot going on in her life and has also gone through some tragic events. The Catie Hoch Foundation is the foundation that was established for her daughter before she died. Gina is very devoted to this foundation and supporting anyone else who may be going through the same thing with their loved ones. On her blog I read an article about a little girl who recently passed away that was battling the same type of cancer as her daughter Catie. The author can relate to the parents of the girl, Ila Jean, because she lost her daughter 11 years ago. "I want to say to them, right now your mind may be playing an endless loop of her last days and you may think you will never feel joy again.  But somewhere down the road, and no one knows how long it will take, you will feel happiness." She tries to give hope to these parents and says that one day "...you will wake up and not feel that weight pressing against your chest." Gina send strength to this family because she knows just how much they need it at this time. "The next part of their journey is not an easy one." She tells them to be grateful for everything they do have which is exactly what Gina does. She is living a "roller coaster of a life" and is slowly getting back into the swing of things by blogging and hoping to help other people as well as overcome her stuggles.

NYT Tuesday

Katniss

A female warrior,
a different kind of hero.
She defends the fragile society; ready to confront whatever awaits her.
An athlete, an idol.
Outrageously bold and believes in taking risks.
Captivating: the right word to describe her.
She nurtures yet kills,
but does both extremely well.
Unique and competitive.
She is so important to many girls and women.
One of the truest feeling and complex female characters.

A Radical Female Hero From Dystopia:http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/08/movies/katniss-everdeen-a-new-type-of-woman-warrior.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hpw

The Met, the "Ring" and the Rage Against the Machine:http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/04/arts/music/peter-gelb-on-wagners-ring-cycle-at-met-opera.html?scp=1&sq=The%20Met,%20the%20%22Ring%22%20and%20the%20Rage%20Against%20the%20Machine&st=cse

-Lauren, 15, Guilderland NY

Did you have a favorite blanket or toy? Tell about it.

On my first birthday I got my most favorite gift that I still have today. The gift was a big stuffed teddy bear from my parents. I couldn't say much at that age, but once I started to talk a little more bear was one of the few words I knew, so I named my stuffed teddy Bearbear! Once I got Bearbear he never left my side no matter where I went or what I was doing. We ate together, slept together, played outside, did arts and crafts, played hide and seek, took naps, etc. Bearbear was my best friend. I was never lonely with Bearbear around and he kept me company until my sisters were born but even after they were born Bearbear was still with me constantly. Even as I got older he was never forgotten. I started giving my old toys and stuffed animals away and every time I thought maybe it was time to let Bearbear go I just couldn't. A part of me couldn't let go of him. I gave away all my stuffed dogs, my other teddy bears, cats, bunnies, everything except Bearbear. It seemed like he was a part of me now and I didn't want to find out if I would be okay without him or not. I decided I would keep him but maybe it was time to put him in the closet instead of sleeping on my bed with him. I kept him in a safe place and I knew he was there but it just wasn't the same. After a few weeks I gave up and decided I didn;t care how old I was or what anyone thought about Bearbear. So he came back out of the closet and he has been sleeping in my bed with me every night ever since.