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A mendhi (henna) espresso cake
This is the cake I made for my cousin’s engagement. It’s an espresso cake with butter cream frosting which is meant to look like a mendhi (henna) pattern! Will post the recipe soon! P.S. Check out my cousin Swetha’s blog http://swayskitchen.tumblr.com/ for awesome Indian recipes!! (The cake right before we cut into it!) (The cake right after it was made!) My cousin Swetha and cousin-to-be Paul cutting the cake!
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Banana chocolate walnut bread
I am NOT a fan of bananas. I generally find the texture unappealing and if they have a spot of brown on them, I refuse to eat them (much to my father’s dismay.) Banana bread is the best way to take advantage of the yucky, browning bananas and make them into something delicious and fun! Ingredients: 3/4 C sugar 1/2 C butter room temp 1.5 C flour 2 eggs 1 T vanilla 1 t. baking soda 1/2 t. salt 1/2 C chopped walnuts 1/2 C choc chips (semi-sweet) 4-5 blackened bananas Recipe: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F 2. Cream together sugar and butter on low (or by hand) 3. Add in vanilla, bananas, and lightly beaten…
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Magic bars
When I was in college, I loved going to this coffee shop in La Jolla called Pannikin (http://pannikincoffeeandtea.com/) They had a great little patio area, free wi-fi and these delicious little pastries that were made of graham cracker, nuts, coconut, and many types of chocolate. This is my version of that great dessert! This is a really easy recipe that doesn’t involve much measuring or accuracy. It’s a good one for a beginner. Ingredients: 4 Cups graham cracker crumbs 2 T butter 1 T cinnamon 12 oz. can sweetener condensed milk unsweeted coconut flakes chocolate chips chopped walnuts white chocolate chips butterscotch chips Recipe: 1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees 2. Combine…
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Edible (Chocolate) Brain
Creepy or awesome? I’m really not sure. But this is definitely a weird mix of things I like! CHECK OUT THE ATTACHED VIDEO! http://www.instructables.com/id/Edible-Chocolate-Brain-from-MRI-Scan/ (Good find Pritam!)
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Replication
My best friend just shared this interesting article with me about a group starting The Reproducibility Project which aims to reproduce major findings in psychology. Currently they are looking at three prominent psych journals from 2008. I think there is a lot to be said regarding replication in science. At its principle, it is supposed to be the core of the scientific process. You should reproduce established work and build on it to further the field. However, it is unfortunate that replication studies are neither well funded nor well received in the field. It’s not often that you see replication studies published in Nature or Science. I wonder how the field would…
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Blueberry Crumble
I am not a huge fan of easter desserts, mainly because I think its weird to make adorable bunnies or chicks and then eat them. Sooo this year I decided to take advantage of the amazing fresh fruit that’s available (yay California) and made some blueberry crumbles. Honestly, these are pretty easy and SO tasty- especially while they are warm out of the oven. Crumble Ingredients: 1/2 C brown sugar 1/4 C white sugar 1 t. baking powder 1 C butter (slightly colder than room temp) 1 egg 1/2 t salt 3 cups all-purpose flour zest of one lemon and half an orange Filling Ingredients: Juice of one lemon 4 C of fresh blueberries (or mixed…
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Synesthesia
When I was working for Dr. VS Ramachandran at UCSD, we did a lot of work in synesthesia. Synesthesia is a condition that causes people to perceive numbers and letters with specific color attributes. It is often described (some-what incorrectly) as a “blending” of senses because synesthetes see numbers with colors, hear flashes of light, or smell sounds. It was really fascinating to hear subjects describe numbers and letters with colors and describe non-matching colors (like a blue 4) to be “all-wrong” because it should be green. The Huffington Post just made a really simple video describing synesthesia, which gives a good introductory explanation of what it all is: http://chip.ucsd.edu/index.html Also,…
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Madhatter cake photos
I shared this post about a Madhatter cake that I made for my friend Meera’s Bridal shower. Here are some amazing photos her photographer Diana Rothery (www.dianarothery.com) took of the bride and her cake. Check out her site! Me & Meera (the cake was displayed in a gorgeous vintage birdcage) She looked absolutely stunning! Proof we ate it! (Cutting the cake)
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Brownie bites
My sister, brother-in-law, and nephew just came to California to visit, so I wanted to make them something cute. Brownie bites are fun because they are so easy to snack on and can be shared without much hassle. They also travel well if you are looking to mail someone a package. It’s really unfortunate that my nephew is too young to eat real food yet, but I figured he could appreciate looking at them 🙂 Below is my favorite brownie recipe… It’s eggless and uses yogurt to keep the amount of oil/fat to a minimum. Makes really chewy brownies! Ingredients: 2 C flour 2 C white sugar 3/4 C cocoa powder 1/4 C choc chips…
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Face blindness
60 minutes recently did an interesting piece on Prosopagnosia (face blindness) which I think gives a really interesting perspective on both the science of the condition and its emotional effects. It also has some interesting interviews with Nancy Kanwisher (MIT) and Oliver Sachs (who knew he’s prosopagnosic himself?) http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7402685n&tag=contentMain;contentAux (part 1) http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7402689n&tag=contentMain;contentAux (part 2) They are two short (~12 mins) clips. Definitely recommend checking them out!
