:: p-dog ::

We are back, yes we are, from our phenomenal week in New York. I have narrated the whole event in pictures at gallery and suggest you visit for the whole story. Here, I will only say that the city is:

• cold,
• even more fun when one is over 21, and
  
• still a place I want to live. So I haven't changed all that much since 14, I suppose.

:: Leslie H - 10:44 AM - ::

Happy birthday to me. We're off to New York. I'm actually pretending yesterday was my birthday, so I don't get depressed about spending it on ten hours of planes. I had a delightful birthday dinner last night with friends, most of which I remember. I celebrated, as is becoming my tradition, by spilling something dark and awful on our carpet. (On Valentine's, red wine. Last night, my entire plate of pasta and sauce.) Fortunately, it was my birthday! So I got to sit on the couch and eat someone else's food while people spun into frantic cleaning action. It looks fine this morning. We could film commercials for our carpet spray.

Soon I will embark on a symmetrical series of taxi, plane, plane, taxi, and end up on a Brooklyn doorstep tonight. Bring it.

:: Leslie H - 6:41 AM - ::

I was pretty depressed after watching Anne Frank and family die in concentration camps, off and on for two weeks. So when we finished the movie today, I had my 8th graders write an alternate ending, imagining what would have happened if Anne had survived. Nothing like a little self-deception. Most of the responses were great--some kids resurrected other characters, too. These are some of my favorites (with spelling corrected). Oddly enough, they are all written by boys.

[I started them off with the sentence: "Hungry and nervous, Anne stepped off the train in Amsterdam on a warm summer day."]

...She had stepped last off the train and she saw a man. The man seemed familiar, as she got closer she recognized him. She started running towards and soon she know it was her father. It was Mr. Frank, he starts to hug Anne they were crying. After that, they go eat on a restaurant and go on with their lives. Miep gives Anne her diary and later she publishes it. Later on she, at the age of twenty-five, becomes a great writer. She gets awarded with the best writer award. Also later, Anne visits France and all of the other countries.

...Anne finds her dad by going to the Red Cross center to see if her dad was dead and she found him there. Anne breaks down crying and they're both in the middle of the room. First they go back to the factory to see Miep. Anne sees that Miep has collected her diary, gives her a hug and her and her father go and publish it. Anne is now 21 it is now 1950 and Anne is an author. She has over 60 million books published and they are all pulitzers. Anne goes to Paris and marries a man named Pierre Freche. They have 3 kids and two poodles. Margot and Peter survive they get married and have four kids. Anne has four grandchildren.

...She will also become a great writier. But she will never forget what happen in the concentration camp and to all the Jews. That was kind of messed up what happened to them. Then she could marry Peter.

...She finds Peter very injured. She kisses him and said "let's go home, my dad will be waiting." Mr. Frank was happy and she said "I am glad to see you again." Mr. Frank said, "Me too." Peter butts in and says "I have an announcement. Will you marry me?" at the end she says "yes." They got married and had twenty children and grew old.
She published her books and made millions. She did not want to buy a house instead she lived in the Secret Annex. She made a big memorial in the front of the house. Mr. Frank was glad to see lots of grandchildren. She grew old up to 99 years and Peter died at the age of 85. To this day the story still goes on.

:: Leslie H - 2:59 PM - ::

I was very proud of my students today. We have been watching the Anne Frank movie (the newest one, 2001), and today there were a few seconds of nudity. They were completely mature about it. I mean, it was bald women walking into a gas chamber, but still--they are 13, and it was boobies. Yet not one disrespectful remark. Nary a giggle.

Of course, I can't credit only their sense of decency. I also threatened to send them outside for the rest of the movie to write an apology letter if I heard one word. But whatever. The morality of 8th graders needs a little propping up.

:: Leslie H - 6:01 PM - ::

If you only read one Onion article this year, let it be this one. It's a completely factual story about Teach for America, called "Teach for America chews up, spits out another ethnic studies major." I mean, the names may be made up, but I swear to god a thousand people have uttered the very words.

Read it. Do it for me.

(Thanks to Johanna for the link.)

:: Leslie H - 5:21 PM - ::

Valentines Day at Fischer was off the hook. Kids roamed around with balloons strapped to their bodies, clutching drug store roses, wild-eyed from all the candy. Some happy teacher elf and her happy student minions had decked the exterior walls (what would be hallways if we had them) in multi-colored hearts. And you couldn't tell Norteño from Sureño what with all the clandestine, uniform-breaking hints of red and pink.

As usual (I don't want to hear it, 6th grade teachers--I mean you, Peanut), I was snubbed by most of my students in the Valentine's department. A total haul of perhaps 6 or 7 cards or candies for Ms. Hall, all but one from my lone 7th grade class.

It was all made up for by this one homemade creation, though. The pictures did not turn out well, so I'll translate. Because I'd hate for you to miss this.


[Fr: (name); Happy Valentine Day; To: Ms. Hall]



[Hope you will get married Soon and on Valentine's Day]

Rock on.

:: Leslie H - 9:00 PM - ::

V-Day (Updated with pictures and reviews)

Bryan and I are celebrating Valentine's Day tomorrow as we celebrate all major events: with decadent food. Here is our menu, courtesy of our favorite recipe website. To drink: Bonny Doon's Old Telegram, saved for a special occasion. Not included in our recipes: green and white asparagus to serve with the tenderloin, and strawberries to complement the mousse.

Added course: APPETIZERS



We were very hungry when we started cooking (and drinking the wine), so we thought some appetizers were in order. Classy cheese and crackers seemed to fit the bill. Lacking crackers, classy cheese and...pretzel sticks. It was surprisingly good.


CREAM OF RED BELL PEPPER SOUP

2 1/2 pounds red bell peppers
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped shallots
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
3 cups (or more) canned vegetable broth

1/2 cup half and half
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Sliced fresh basil

Char peppers over gas flame or in broiler until blackened on all sides. Enclose in paper bag and let stand 10 minutes. Peel, seed and slice peppers. Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots, garlic and thyme and sauté 3 minutes. Add 3 cups broth and all but 4 slices of roasted pepper. Simmer uncovered until peppers are very soft, about 20 minutes.

Working in batches, purée soup in blender until smooth. Return to same pot. Add half and half, vinegar and cayenne pepper. Rewarm soup, thinning with additional broth, if desired. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with reserved pepper strips and basil.

Serves 4. (We're halving it.)


The verdict: This soup was amazing. It was unfortunately labor-intensive (mostly the roasting/peeling of the peppers), but absolutely worth it for special occasions.

HERB AND GARLIC-CRUSTED BEEF TENDERLOIN

8 tablespoons olive oil
2 2 1/4- to 2 3/4-pound pieces beef tenderloin (thick end), trimmed

6 garlic cloves, minced
2 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh thyme
2 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
6 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 375°F. Rub 1 tablespoon oil over each beef piece. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat 2 large nonstick skillets over high heat. Add 1 beef piece to each; brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Place beef pieces in large roasting pan. Mix 6 tablespoons oil, garlic, 2 tablespoons thyme and 2 tablespoons rosemary in small bowl. Coat top and sides of beef pieces with mustard, then with herb mixture. Roast until meat thermometer inserted into center of beef registers 125°F for medium-rare, about 45 minutes. Transfer to platter. Let stand 10 minutes. Cut beef into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 tablespoon each of thyme and rosemary and serve with pepper relish.

Makes 10 servings. (We're quartering it.)


The verdict: It's hard to go wrong with really excellent beef. This was good and simple to make, but probably not worth the cost of tenderloin. The meat was the least remarkable part of the meal (as you can see, we ended up eating about 3-4 oz each). White asparagus, on the other hand, are magically delicious.


Added course: BEER (Bryan was finding the wine a bit difficult.)





CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

2 cups chilled heavy cream
4 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
7 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped

Garnish: lightly sweetened whipped cream
Special equipment: an instant-read thermometer

Heat 3/4 cup cream in a 1-quart heavy saucepan until hot. Whisk together yolks, sugar, and a pinch of salt in a metal bowl until combined well, then add hot cream in a slow stream, whisking until combined. Transfer mixture to saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until it registers 160°F on thermometer. Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and stir in vanilla.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler or a metal bowl set over a pan of simmering water (or in a glass bowl in a microwave at 50 percent power 3 to 5 minutes), stirring frequently. Whisk custard into chocolate until smooth, then cool.

Beat remaining 1 1/4 cups cream in a bowl with an electric mixer until it just holds stiff peaks. Whisk one fourth of cream into chocolate custard to lighten, then fold in remaining cream gently but thoroughly.

Spoon mousse into 8 (6-ounce) stemmed glasses or ramekins and chill, covered, at least 6 hours. Let stand at room temperature about 20 minutes before serving.

Makes 8 servings. (We're halving.)


Oy. This was marvelous. By that point in the meal, however, we were so full that between us we only managed to eat half of one of those glassfuls. The extra I took to school today and force-fed my colleagues bites of Valentine's mousse. They think I'm a little strange.

:: Leslie H - 2:44 PM - ::

I can no longer deny it. Spring is here. The flowering trees are in full bloom; migrating birds have begun to return; the temperature is in the 60s. It's incomparably lovely.

What you can't hear is the bitter edge in my voice. Having never lived in a place that had a satisfying winter, I always feel cheated when spring returns. For one more year, my rack of coats and mittens sits unstirred in the corner of the closet. In Texas, the return of spring always meant the barely tolerable heat was just weeks away. But in California, all it means is that I won't see a cloud for 10 months, and the likely temperature will rise a dozen or so degrees.

I have officially been here too long when I start complaining about California weather.

I added more pictures to gallery, mostly from school. Highlights include three different Fischer sports events and a Dance Dance Revolution tournament in my classroom.

:: Leslie H - 10:46 AM - ::

Yes, it's been a while. Whatever. You're not really that interested anyway.

Life has been good recently. Bryan has returned from the sweatshop conditions of the siggraph paper deadline. Five weeks have passed since Christmas break. I've put out another newspaper, taught my kids about the Holocaust, and made them write so many essays they hate me with a pure and holy passion.

In two weeks, it will be my 24th birthday, and we will be in New York for February break, my favorite random school vacation ever. I am extremely excited about the trip and extremely concerned about the cold. I'm just not prepared to handle true winter weather, and all of my New York experiences have involved constant walking outside. It's been in the 60s here since, well, forever. If it didn't get dark at 5:30, there would be no way to distinguish the seasons.

Last weekend I wanted to walk up the eastern hills I drive by every day, and by studiously avoiding the word "hike," got Bryan to come with me. He brought a kite to amuse himself and break up the monotony of walking uphill.



The oddest thing about the walk was the cows grazing everywhere. Plus, now that we know cows personally, random bovines often remind us of my parents' small herd. We met a red cow on the hill with a bellow just like Lucy's.

I put up a new album on gallery as our miscellaneous spring dumping ground. Visit for pictures of aforementioned cows, hula-hooping students, and more.

:: Leslie H - 5:12 PM - ::