I can do the laundry,

and make dinner while I'm on the phone...

Saturday, day for errands and housekeeping. Started last night, really; finished the last batch of rice when I got home (from a rugby match, but that's a later story) so I made another pot. Had that for dinner, along with the last of the jar of masala sauce J got me for Christmas:


So that was nice. Only had about 1/4 of it; half went into the freezer, and the rest into the fridge for consumption in the next few days.

So, that was last night. Got up this morning at ten, went to the bank where I got quarters for the laundry that seriously needs to get done today, came home, and started...



Stew!

I bought a little over a pound of top round (labeled London Broil) steak at Winco about a month ago for two bucks; took it home, stuck in the freezer, and stared researching what it was I had purchased. I got the crock pot for my birthday last year, and haven't really had a chance to try it out. Pay no attention to the oatmeal experiment behind the curtain. Soooo, stew!



My crock pot is only...3 quarts, I think? So the amount of meat I was able to slice away from the fat on the steak was just about perfect. Put down a layer of 3 eighthed (well, quartered isn't accurate) potatoes and covered it with a bunch of Spencer's baby carrots chopped in half, about a third of a head of chopped garlic, 2 cups (or, one large Star Trek mug) of beef broth, and the meat cup up into little hunks.



So now it's sitting down on the kitchen table, cooking on high for a few hours. I stabbed the meat for a while to tenderize it (and because it was fun). Spencer was looking at me very oddly. Also, it should be noted: raw beef and coffee are not really smells that go well together.

What I really don't like about cooking with the crock pot is that I can't fiddle it; I like to mess with my food while it's cooking (stir, taste, add to, poke with spoons), and that's really not a good idea with the crock pot. Sigh. So I'm upstairs, trying to resist the temptation to take off the lid and stir the stew every five minutes.



I started at 12:45, so I'm gonna give it about 6 hours on high and then see how it's going. I don't know how many times I'll have given in and poked at it before then, though :)



Right, load of laundry is now in. Kitchen smells all garlicy, yay!

Just got an email form the other professor I asked to write me a rec letter for the summer REU programs to which I'm applying; he says he'll do it. Thank goodness. All but two of the campuses require 2 rec letters, and I've only had (minus this semester) two math professors. Now, they've both agreed. Phew. I'm applying to seven programs, including the one here at Chico. I'd be really, really happy to get accepted to even one of them, though I have no idea how many applicants they get. Hmm, need to arrange to get transcripts sent on Monday...

But, I promised a rugby story. Yesterday I had a bunch of tests, which is nice in that you can leave when you're done. So, I was loitering in the hallway, waiting for my next class to start, when a girl I know in a we-keep-ending-up-in-classes-together-let's-be-friends kinda way, saw me and bounced over. She's a bouncy kinda person, in a very non-annoying kinda way. She asked what I was doing at three, and upon learning I was free, told me I should come to see the Chico vs. BYU women's rugby match; she's on the team, and was pretty excited about it.

So, I said sure. Friday afternoon, gorgeous day, nothing better to do with my time. And... it was a lot of fun. I left a half time (rugby is played in 40 minute halfs. Who knew?) but it was fun to watch and easy to follow. Not a lot of people there, lots of really pretty dogs to pet, and I think we were winning when I left. I'll have to ask her on Monday how it went. But it was a really good time.

Right. Gotta write back to nice letter-writing professor now with pertinent info. He's really big into grad school/research/self-starters, so I had figured this would be right up his alley. Nice confirmation, though.

Hope everyone's having a nice weekend! *waves to Mom and Dad on their hol* Will post pics of the stew when it's done.