Thursday, March 31, 2011

Quick Pitch Competition gives young entrepreneurs leg-up in business world - Daily Nebraskan - News

Quick Pitch Competition gives young entrepreneurs leg-up in business world - Daily Nebraskan - News

Remember when I mentioned my chicken coop project awhile back. Well I pitched it at a competition and though I didn't win - you can see me presenting on this clip!

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Thoughts from spring break

It was amazing to have a spring break again, now that I'm back in school!  I went to visit one of my best friends in Colorado.  We've known each other basically forever, but it's been a long time since we've actually spent much quality time together.  It was so much fun!  Colorado is beautiful, and I actually think it's somewhere that I could see myself living.  (Though Oklahoma is still #1 on my list.)

Something we talked a lot about was her and her husband's adoption from Ethiopia.  I have always thought that adoption would be something I want to do, and discussing it with her last week confirmed that desire once more.  I can't wait for her to bring little Jude home, just as I can't wait to start the process myself (in a few years, or actually more like many years).  It's such an incredible journey that they have been on, and I cannot even begin to describe my heartfelt desire to follow in their footsteps!  There are somewhere around 150 million orphans worldwide, which is equivalent to 1 in every 2 people in America.  If you are in the U.S., look at the person next to you - one of you would be an orphan.

Passion...we are all passionate about things in our lives.  What are you passionate about?  Obviously, adoption is a passion of mine.  Well, I should probably amend that to say that human rights, particularly those of children are my passion.  I am heartbroken each time I read about or see a documentary on genocide or human trafficking.  It is so difficult to believe that humans can commit such atrocities against fellow humans.

Another passion - reduce, reuse, recycle.  I love recycling and figuring out new and different ways to positively, or at least not negatively, impact the planet.  I think it started back in 5th grade when there was a contest sponsored by the newspaper to promote the new public recycling program that was being implemented.  I drew three blue bags with faces and wrote reduce, reuse, recycle under them.  Seems like a silly, simple little drawing doesn't it?  And I will vouch for the fact that my skills as an artist are very much lacking.  Nonetheless, I won the contest.  The prize was having the sketch printed in the newspaper.  I was so excited about my drawing and about getting blue bags and about the concept in general.  My parents recently got rain barrels and I'm so excited to see them in action sometime when I'm back home.  I have used bubble wrap for the past few years on my windows in the winter to reduce heating usage and costs.  And recycling is so ingrained in my habits that when I lived in a city without a recycling program, I hauled it all back to my parents' with me to include with my their recycling.  Next on the list, learn to use the public transit system in Lincoln.  It's challenge since there is an unofficial stop near my house, but no way to know when the bus will come by my stop.  Now that it is warming up, I can easily stand on the corner for as long as it takes for the bus to drive up.

More passions to come...

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Biscuits

So far, this blog has served only the purpose of keeping friends and family up to date.  I'm going to start adding some new things like recipes, both for fun and to add some substance to the blog!

Today's feature recipe is biscuits!  This is my go-to recipe whenever I want biscuits.  They are perfect as a side with chili or scrambled eggs or as the main meal with jam or honey or sausage gravy for breakfast.


Elise's Biscuits

Dry:
1 cup flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sugar (I use a full teaspoon if I plan to eat them with jam or honey)
1/4 teaspoon salt (the original recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon, but I always halve the salt)

Wet:
6 Tablespoons milk
2 1/2 Tablespoons oil (I usually substitute applesauce for half the oil)

400 degree oven

1. Stir together the dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately.
2. Add the wet mixture to the dry and stir until moistened.
3. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto a slightly greased cookie sheet.
4. Bake for 12-15 minutes (12 is usually enough).

Step 1                                                 Step 2

Step 3


Yum!  I use unbleached flour, so the biscuits come out a little darker than when using bleached flour.

Also, I'm looking for a great gravy recipe for biscuits & gravy.  If anyone has one, please point me in the right direction!