Stars and Stripes

For the debate on Tuesday I whipped up a long time family favorite tradition that my sister, Nicole, started way back when. I am not really sure where she found this gem of an idea, but I love it, and while it is traditionally made on the 4th of July, I figured its patrotic nature to be perfect for watching the debates. It is a really easy recipe if you need a quick dessert for an occasion, I am sure you could switch up the fruit on top to make it less patrotic.
Here was my finished product





You will need:
1 large loaf of pound cake- Frozen Sara Lee is my cake of choice sliced into 1/2 inch slices

Strawberries and Blueberries

Whipped cream, Kool-whip works as well

make a layer of pound cake in your dish. Cover with whipped cream, and then in a layer of thinly sliced strawberries. Then place another layer of pound cake on top, and cover with whipped cream and then....make your flag with sliced straberries and blueberries

D.C. United Game

This past weekend Alex took me to a D.C. United game. It was through his work, so we got to sit with the NDI group, which was neat to see who he works with. The stadium is older, having been the playing grounds for the Redskins and the Nationals in prior years. Food options are limited and not nearly as good as going to a Nationals game. And don't expect there to be any ketchup. We did a marathon walk looking for ketchup for our chicken fingers and were left to use mustard or being condiment-less.

The game was really fun though. It felt very European, with the crazy section of devoted fans waving giant flags, throwing around rolls of crate paper, banging on huge drums and generally just going wild. The game was relatively short for a sporting event but was very interesting. United didn't score which was sad, but I will still impressed with the level of skill.

Half time ended up being very entertaining as there was a giant yellow chicken with an odd tail, wearing a sombrero dancing, or rather bopping around on the field while little kids teams faced off against each other.



This was the chicken

Baked Alaska...Just for you Sarah Palin

To continue my themed desserts that I am taking to our friend's apartment where we watch the debates since we are sans tv, I made baked alaska (Alex's idea) in honor of the VP debate. I give myself 4 stars for this recipe attempt.
First the making of the sponge cake:

Butter Sponge:
1 C. Sifted cake flour
1 tsp. Baking powder
1/2 C. Milk
1/4 C. Butter or Margerine
6 Egg yolks
1 C. Sugar
1/2 tsp. Vanilla

Sift together the flour and baking powder. Beat egg yolks till think and then add the sugar slowly. Add vanilla. Add to the flour mixture and mix until just barely mixed together. Heat milk and butter together (I did this in the microwave) make sure it is really hot. Pour into mixture and stir. Bake in a greased pan (9x9) at 350 for 30- 35 minutes. Don't invert and leave in pan, you will construct the rest of the dessert in this pan.

Here is what my sponge looked like:




Once the sponge is done baking, let it sit until cool and then place in the freezer. Meanwhile find a bowl that is smaller in diameter than your sponge and line with plastic wrap. Press your choice of ice cream into the bowl (about 1.5 quart) and place in freezer. Now you need to make your meringue.

Use your left over egg whites from earlier...only you only need about half of the 6. And then you need about 1/4 cup sugar for every egg white. Place your eggs in a ceramic bowl (NOT PLASTIC) and use a wisk to beat. If you have a hand mixer opt for that, but I was on my own. Beat until soft peaks form. Slowly add sugar beating until dissolved. Add a little (1/4c. to 1/2 c.) powdered sugar and a dash of vanilla, keep whipping until strong peaks. Set aside.

Take sponge and ice cream out. Place ice cream in center of sponge. Cover in meringue. SEAL THE EDGES!! Baked on 500 degrees until meringue is golden brown...serve right away.

And here is my baked alaska

On a Personal Note

Well I guess it is about time to tell everyone about my new job. Yes yes I am very excited. I just recieved an offer this week (which I accepted!) from Brailsford and Dunlavey which is a facility planning and program management firm based in D.C.. They develop "quality of life" facilities that include, sports complexes, student housing, recreation facilities, and confrence centers. To know more about what they do you can check out thier webpage. I start work on monday as a Human Resources Assistant. I am currently working part-time, which will hopefully turn into a full-time job as my career at B&D progresses. Their office is metro accessible, and is also only a few blocks away from where Alex works at the National Democratic Institute. I am not totally sure what my job entails quite yet, except for some database clean-up and updating to start. Hopefully I will get a decent amount of exposure to some general HR concepts to help me prepare to take my PHR certification test as well as possibly become a generalist at some point. Below is the google map of where my office is located in D.C., along with where the apartment is and where Alex works. I will post most locations on here as things become more signifigant to me.But YAY for having a job! Thanks to everyone who has kept me sane by providing support for all those rought days of bad interviews and rejection!


View Larger Map

We Just Made the Down Payment

This is the beautiful home that we just put a down payment on...ok maybe not. Instead we visited Mount Vernon, George Washington's Estate. It is about 8 miles out of Alexandria and the drive was beautiful. We took the George Washington Parkway and drove along the Potomac. Mount Vernon is privately owned and open year round. You do have to pay to visit the site, which is rare in D.C., but it is worth you $13 ($15 for us because we also visited the newly opened distillery and granary). The house is beautiful inside and out. Pictures are not allowed inside, but there is beautiful woodworking and vivid paint colors. The room on the bottom left is the room where GW was elected our first president and in the top right room of the house is where he died of a throat infection. The estate is restored to the year he died because there was a detailed description of the house from that time. It has a breathtaking view from the back, over the Potomac. On the other side of the river you will notice it is not built up because Maryland has put laws in place to preserve the view from Mount Vernon.

And this is the view from the back porch, it is really dark because it started to pour rain for about a half an hour of our visit

There were all sorts of things to see, from the pasture and barns to GW's farming ground where he discovered innovative farming techniques. His grave (original and new) are both on the grounds. He was originally buried in a brick building that looked like a cellar and then I believe when Martha died there was a new structure build for them and family members. There is a memorial to the slaves that served on his estate as well. The grounds also keeps live animals around... many of which I am sure are from the time of GW himself.