Thank you for admitting me to the your grad program starting in September 2013 despite with hesitation because I have “only little background in quantitative subjects”. Thanks for suggesting some books to check out this summer, and for pointing out that you’re really not trying to scare me off.

Quantitative subjects do not quite scare me off.

What scares me off is the ideas that at one point, people are not going to give you stuff simply because you do extremely well in school. That doing extremely well in school probably doesn’t mean much in real life. That I have never even really understood what real life is like. That my parents probably want me to be better than them so badly that they unconsciously make my life too easy. That if life currently feels too easy. you’re probably living it wrong. That this next step is some kind of irreversible “narrowing down”, and will steer me away from doing things I am much better at but haven’t discovered yet. That everyone, parents, professors, friends, confidently invest money, attention, trust in me without knowing what they could/should expect to come out of it, and had to wait for another year in which Lana (probably) stumbles over quantitative subjects. And that none of them demands anything from me, and none of them is being critical of me, as long as I do extremely well in school.

You see, the quantitative subjects part is probably the least intimidating aspect of this whole deciding process. And I will study Human Decision Science too— this can’t get more ironic can it.

^Maastricht University School of Business and Economics

*ahem*

lately I haven’t been baking much, because I was hand-sewing a padded insert for a camera bag (and like, you know, going to classes). Since camera bags that look nice are ridiculously expensive (they don’t even have shockproof hard case or anything, just… padded handbags) I decided to make one for myself.

So I bought a discounted orange bag (10 Euros!), some fabric and foam from a construction store.

This wonderful bag has cellphone compartments inside and two big pockets outside… very nice. I cut a “base” and two slabs of foam, fitting them together inside the bag. No ruler needed (I lost mine anyways)

oh and I also cut a small piece to create two dividers. After that I trace them on the fabric, with about 0.7 cm added around the edges

cut the fabric, sew them with the outside facing in, leave about 3 cm open, flip them inside out, put foam in, sew them shut— yadda yadda yadda ah I’m not good at writing tutorials

…my camera fits snugly and securely inside.

and the cables can go outside. There is even space for my cellphone, wallet and stuff—

and since the padding are removable and put together with Velcro— (sewing thick Velcro to fabric by hand destroyed my nails + cuticles and chipped my front teeth.) I can use the padding insert with another bag.

But for now, this cute orange bag is my camera’s home sweet home.

Say yay for DIY!

I bought strawberries and a lemon because they were cheap and looked colorful and fresh. I got home and didn’t quite know what to do with them (!!). So I looked up recipes online and found some that, combined, can make good use of both ingredients, and taste and look wonderful. Here it is!

Lemon Curd Strawberry Tartlets

Makes: 12 (young single female portion. You can always double it if you have a party to feed.)

Tart Shells

Tart shells are supposed to be simple. Cut 1/2 cup butter into a mixture of 3/4 cup flour, 1/2 tbsp cornstarch, 1/4 cup powdered sugar and a dash of salt. When the butter is blended, it should turn into moist crumbs, add flour if it sticks. Press into mini tart molds, cover all surface but don’t make it too thick (go for 2 mm thickness if you can :p tricky).

Bake tart shells at 300 F/150 C for about 20 minutes just until it’s hard. No color change is fine.

Lemon Curd

How much lemon curd do you need? I only needed a bit, enough for my 12 little tarts. You need:

• 2 1/2 tbsp butter (about 38 grams?)
• 1 egg, beaten lightly
• 1/4 cup (50 gr) sugar
• 1/8 cup (30 cc) lemon juice
• 1 tbsp lemon zest (yum)

You need a double boiler, basically just a bowl (metal is best!) over simmering water (not too hot or you’ll end up with scrambled egg) so you can mix, melt and dissolve ingredients in a very warm container. Melt butter, add sugar, mix, and then add egg, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Whisk often for about 15 minutes until the curd is thick like sauce. Lift and chill the curd.

Assembling

Spoon curd into tart shells. Arrange sliced strawberries on top. Such pretty colors! NO food coloring! :D

I dusted it a bit with powdered sugar (does nothing really, I just thought strawberries are sour) and added a spoonful of whipped cream on top. Done!

Aren’t these little tartlets mad presentable. Bring it to a party or something. They taste wonderful too. Keep chilled for later consumption.

Have fun baking! :)

-Lana