#28: Bake and decorate a cake from scratch, including the icing.

I've heard a lot of people throw around words like "therapeutic" and "cathartic" to describe baking. But I've also seen enough Top Chef episodes where the cockiest award-winning chefs who've just whipped up crispy pork belly gremolatas with microgreen and conch fritter-scented foam reductions (those are words I've learned by watching cooking shows) are reduced to tears at the mere suggestion that they need to make a simple berry tart. 

I am nothing if not succinct.

Takeaway: baking is hard, yo! As a fan of "freestyle cooking" -- compile a bunch of ingredients that sound pretty good together, apply heat when necessary, then slather on condiments liberally -- the precise nature of baking has long scared me off. Don't get me wrong: I can whip up a Funfetti cake with the best of 'em. But up until this week, I'd never done any solo baking of the non-Pillsbury kind.

So basically, this 30 Before 30 item was a no-brainer to include: I've never done it before, it requires little planning beyond a special occasion and a trip to Meijer, and cake is straight-up delicious. So with winter graduation coming up, I decided to bake a cake to celebrate with the "Dip Party" ladies, three of whom will be MSWs in mere days. (Yes, we have parties involving dips, and lots and lots of wine, and they are amazing.)

I scoured the Internet (read: Pinterest) for recipes, and settled on a blue (not red) velvet cake with a maize cream cheese frosting. Yeah, my school spirit runs deep. There were lots of recipe variations, so I picked the one that was accompanied by the most delicious-looking photographs from Bakerella. I made my list, trekked around the store procuring the ingredients, picked out some pretty killer 9-inch round cake pans in the kitchen section, lamented about how being an adult must mean getting that jazzed about new cake pans, remembered that I had also bought, but not really worn, an awesome new ruffle-y apron a few months ago, again lamented my now apron-induced adulthood excitement, and then went to sleep. It was a big night.

Fast forward to the actual baking of the cake, which surprisingly wasn't too bad. Take that, Top Chefs! Several coworkers had suggested sifting both the all-purpose flour (for the cake) and the confectioners sugar (for the frosting) before measuring it out, because that can often yield different measurements. I must say, I felt VERY Martha Stewart-y sifting the flour. The cake recipe suggested that, after filling the cake pans with the mix, I drop them several times onto the counter to remove any air bubbles. This was probably my favorite part of the process, as it was very loud and stress-releasing and it really did pull out a bunch of the bubbles. The cakes baked for about 35 minutes, and then cooled for a bunch of hours before I dared frost them. Meanwhile, the smell of freshly-baked cake permeating my apartment was really sensational, and probably enough reason to continue any baking endeavors.

Making the frosting was slightly more difficult, due mostly to my janky handheld mixer that I'm pretty sure my junior year roommate accidentally left in our apartment when she moved out. I had let the butter and cream cheese reach room temperature for most of the day, so they combined well, but the mixer plus the powdered sugar made me rull glad I had an apron on, because that shit went everywhere. Seriously, my kitchen looked like an outtake from the movie Blow.


Eventually I gave up on the mixer, made like Ice Cube and put my back into it, hand-mixing my own frosting and adding the yellow dye until it was the maize-iest shade of maize I'd ever seen. I frosted the middle layer, then the top and sides with not much trouble, aside from wishing I had a cake stand. I used the blue decorative frosting I'd bought at the store (the only non-homemade part of the cake) along with some blue sprinkles that were kicking around my spice cabinet and badda bing...a cake was born!

I am grateful to the lovely graduates -- Kate, Sara and Carryn -- and other celebrants -- Renee, Jodi and Valentina -- for indulging in the "look at the caaaaaake, you guyyyyssss" requests that were both annoying and inevitable, and for joining me to eat, drink and celebrate the end of the semester and, for some of us, the end of graduate school. And the bonus was, the cake itself turned out great, if I do say so myself...it was moist (yeah, I know you hate that word) and flavorful, and the frosting was creamy (yeah, I hate that word) and rich. 

So while I'll always love a Funfetti, I think we all agreed that there really is nothing like the taste of a homemade cake. And to actually successfully pull together a pretty delicious cake from scratch...well, that tastes pretty darn good too. Nom nom nom.

Yay graduates!

#22: Try speed dating, and then laugh about it after over cocktails with friends.

I'm a pretty busy lady.


I'm a grad student, which means I've got classes and my internship. I have assorted readings, papers, meetings and group projects for said classes. I've also got a job. And awesome friends with whom I love hanging out. Plus I have a Netflix subscription, a gym membership, a DVR teeming with trashy reality shows that I never seem to have enough time to watch, and a near-perfect tomato basil soup recipe that still needs some minor tweaking. 


Like most busy people, I enjoy convenience. So speed dating seemed like something I should give a shot: meet 25 single guys in one evening, talk to them for 4 minutes each, and then decide who you'd be willing to exchange contact information with. It's something I've heard of (and seen hilariously -- and uncomfortably -- depicted in various movies and TV shows) but have never actually tried; hence, its place on my 30 Before 30 list. My fabulous friend Renee (who suggested I start this list in the first place!) forwarded me a grad student speed dating email a couple weeks ago, and we agreed to sign up. Let the awkwardness begin!


I would say this experience landed somewhere on the border between really fun and uncomfortably weird. It took place at a bar, which was crucial because it meant we could have a beer -- or a Makers on the rocks, in my case -- before (and during) to keep it loose. It was in a side room at the bar, which meant no spectators, aside from the wait staff who seemed to really get a kick out of eavesdropping on some awkward conversations. In addition to Renee, my lovely new friends Anne and Caroline also joined, and let's be real here: dating can be awkward, so having friends there makes it much better.


The way it worked was pretty simple...I had a name tag and a number, and so did everyone else, plus a sheet where we were supposed to write who we spoke to and columns for "yes" or "no" depending on our interest level. The girls got to sit in the same seats, and the guys moved table to table, down the line, every 4 minutes. It had the effect of a sort of conveyor belt of dudes. Sometimes I wished I could speed that belt up, and a couple times I wanted to pause it and talk a little longer. Generally speaking though, I'll give it up for the organizers' formula: 4 minutes seems like basically all you need to decide if you're interested in going out with someone.


As for the actual dudes on this conveyor belt...they were an impressive bunch: all grad students, lots in engineering, medicine and business, from what I could tell. "What program are you in?" seemed like the safe question to start out with, along with small-talk favorites like "Where are you from?" and "What are your hobbies?" I did have someone ask me if I had hobbies, to which I initially replied "Nope". He didn't seem to appreciate my sarcasm, which for me is the quickest way to a check mark in the "no" column. One guy asked me if I could be a part of any TV show, what it would be. My quick response -- Seinfeld -- elicited a "wow, going old school there!" comment. Which brings me to my next point: there were a lot of guys who looked like they'd juuuuuuust gotten bar mitzvahed, which made me feel like a straight-up cougar. Are we seriously living in a day when Seinfeld could be considered old school? Overall though, everyone was really nice, and though 100 minutes of straight small talk was definitely fatiguing, it was a fun experience.


And keeping true to this list item's full description, after the event ended a little before midnight, we hustled to Bar Louie for a cocktail (and $1 burgers) to decompress and debrief. I think I speak for all of us when I say that it was definitely a worthwhile experience; nothing may come of it, but I'm not sure any of us expected that anyway. It's just always a good feeling to blow off your homework and sneak out of your school bubble for one night to meet some new people.


And even more importantly, it's always good to remember that even if you're busy -- which let's face it, we all are -- it's worth it to make time for a fun night with good friends.