65th Anniversary

It's the 65th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Japan. A great op-ed by Oe, nobel prize winner, and great auther of many short stories and novels.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/06/opinion/06oe.html?hp

"Brewing a better world"...or not?

Interesting read from the NYtimes about those single use coffee pods and there eco-friendlyness. Interestingly, they are trying to make these things bio-degradable and some of them have recycling programs. I'm a bit skeptical of the recycling programs though.

We have these individual pod coffee things in my office (although I am unsure which brand, will need to check it out), and while I do love having fresh hot coffee, it does make you stop and think. Maybe I should mention it to someone that we should switch over to a coffee company like Green Mountain that is going to make biodegradable them more eco-friendly. Right now ours is just thrown in the trash, but I think we have a brand with a recycling program. Don't think we will be doing that though.

Read it here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/04/business/energy-environment/04coffee.html?ref=business

Roasted Dill and Garlic Chicken and Peach Preserve Corn Muffins

So Sunday was a busy day. Woke up, cleaned, had tea with one of my Truman friends, hit the gym, and came back to roast a chicken and bake some muffins. Ok. Maybe it wasn't that busy, but it sure did feel like the day went by fast as when I was finished washing all the dishes it was basically time to shower, brush my teeth, and go to sleep. Oh Sundays. How I wish they were longer as I really hate Mondays, particularly the Monday I had this week. Though I did get to see Anthony and a bunch of Sanford friends and celebrate Jason's 25th.


Anyway...to the chicken and muffins! I must mention first that I have switched over to buying the organic chickens at Giant instead of the Purdue ones. I think you can taste the difference (it isn't as rubbery), but also I got a bit reformed by reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. I wish I could afford to buy whole chickens from the farmers market at Columbia Heights but at $5.50 a pound I don't think I really want to be paying $16 for a three pound bird. Afterall, I'm a young professional on a budget! But at least I'm adding to the demand for antibiotic free/not feed animal by product chickens right? Oh well. It's my money and I trying to make the right decision here.

So...as for the chicken. I'm really enjoying roasting birds and trying new and different herbs with them. Since I had dill leftover from making pickled carrots I thought a dill and garlic chicken would be great to have for lunch with a salad for work for the rest of the week. Plus I have carcass I can freeze to make chicken soup with later in the fall (I have two carcasses in my freezer right now since I roasted a chicken earlier in July).Check out what I did to make my dill and garlic chicken below. Personally, I think next time I might try a dill brine with some mustard seeds perhaps to get the dill taste into the whole bird.

Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of the whole roasted bird, but I got a nice picture of what I will be taking to lunch for the next few days! A little bit of spinach salad covered with squash sauted with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Yum! And healthy!

But the highlight/failure of the night was my corn muffins with a peach preserve filling. I guess not all my adventures can come out looking great. But the main thing is there tasted ok. The peach preserve really made them, and I figured out how when to put the peach preserve on the muffin so the muffin will rise and cover the preserve so when you take it out it will be right in the center of the muffin! I am excited about that. Anyway, I think it might have been a failure since I didn't really stick to the recipe. I couldn't find a corn muffin recipe that I liked so I adapted Cooks Illustrated simple muffin recipe by adding a cup of corn meal instead of flour. I think I might have to actually search for a corn muffin recipe. But I wanted to stick with a southern theme having made peach preserve and all. And what is more southern than homemade corn muffins and peach preserve?! At least my co-workers liked them. Kyle, Jess, and David each had two. So that fat princessing of my co-workers begins.Muahaha. Hopefully they won't know what hit them. Particularly as fall comes around and I can make stuff with pumpkin and butternut squash and cinnamon and apples. Oh how Fall is my favorite season.

So here are the recipes. The boyfriend is in town this coming weekend so I think we will both be blogging about the same things. Im thinking we will try making some flat bread and hummus. Perhaps also some homemade pizza or a ricotta and summer squash and tomato gallette. Yum!


Dill and Garlic Chicken
- 5 pound chicken
-healthy bunch of fresh dill
-8 cloves of garlic
-olive oil
-salt
-pepper

1. chop dill and garlic and mix together in bowl with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
2. rub mixture all over and inside of chicken
3. roast chicken for 2 hrs and 15 minutes at 375 or until internal temp. is 165 degrees
4. take out, cool, and eat!

Corn Muffins with Peach Preserve Filling
From Cooks Illustrated

Makes 1 dozen large muffins (I got 15 muffins out this recipe, but I think my muffin tins might be a bit smaller). Published January 1, 1997.
Remember, if you're short on time, you can melt the butter, mix it with the eggs, and stir it into the dry ingredients. When thoroughly mixed, beat in the yogurt and proceed with the recipe. To cinnamon-coat muffin tops, dip warm muffins in melted butter, then in mixture of one-half cup granulated sugar and two teaspoons cinnamon.
Ingredients
- 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon table salt
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar , less 1 tablespoon
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups plain low-fat yogurt
Vegetable cooking spray or additional unsalted butter for muffin tins
Instructions
1. Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl; set aside.

2. Beat butter and sugar with electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in one-half of dry ingredients. Beat in one-third of yogurt. Beat in remaining dry ingredients in two batches, alternating with yogurt, until incorporated.

3. Spray twelve-cup muffin tin with vegetable cooking spray or coat lightly with butter. Use large ice cream scoop to divide batter evenly among cups. Bake until muffins are golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Set on wire rack to cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove muffins from tin and serve warm. (I put a spoonful of my peach preserves about 5 or 8 minutes into the baking process. I think you could wait a bit longer, maybe around 10.)

Peach Preserves and Pickeld Carrots

So I'm listening to Bela Fleck on Pandora, drinking some coffee, and skimming the news (NYTimes,RealClearPolitics/Markets, CQPolitics, Politico, Honolulu StarAdvertiser, Washington Post) and thought I needed to write about my peach preserve and pickled carrot adventure before I forget and the sun sets on a Sunday and I have to work on Monday. So with some caffeine in me, here we go...

Yesterday was a busy day. I ran down to my bank in Adams Morgan first thing in the morning to deposit my check than back up to Columbia Heights to catch the metro down to Capitol Hill to get my hair cut at 11. On my way to the bank I walked through the farmers market that was just about to open to check out the produce. I was tempted to buy some eggplant and tomatoes as I knew they would go fast but I didn't want to carry them around with me all day as I had plans to visit eastern market and get fitted for a tuxedo for Anthony (the groom) and Dave's (the bride) wedding [I note this mockingly as Anthony has to fill out all the forms while Dave works. I really think it should be the other way around but don't tell them].

So at 11 I got my hair cut and shampooed by a nice lady at Bubble Salon named Mina. She did a really good job and took just enough off the top! After that I wandered down to Eastern Market, where I was tempted to buy so many things. But I refrained as my Filipino wife (e.g. the boyfriend - I promise there is a story behind this that will be shared one day) would scold me for not putting such money away into my savings or retirement. So instead of buying anything I just walked around dreaming of all the cool artsy things I could have to decorate my apartment with and then headed over to Union Station to the Jos. Bank to get fitted for a tux.

Now you think getting fitted for a tux would be simple and easy. But for some odd reason Saturday was not my day. I was stuck in Jos Bank for an hour as they were having trouble with their computer system. So now instead of picking up my tux here in DC I have to pick it up in Boston. Great! I should mention though that Anthony and Dave's wedding is in Boston/New Hampshire.

After that fiasco, I rushed back to Columbia Heights to make it to the farmers market before it closed at 2. Got there right in time to get 12 peaches to make some peach preserves!!! And here they are! From nice round juicy ripe pieces of fruit to canned oh so beautifully in three jars. Can't wait to share with people.



Also pickled some carrots to throw on my salads for lunch. I'm so looking forward to this. Might try and make some Vietnamese sandwiches with them.


So hopefully I'll keep up with this site again on a weekly basis. I still need to roast a chicken and make some muffins for work tomorrow so expect another post soon. I'm thinking of a a roasted garlic and dill chicken and some butter muffins with a peach preserve filling!!! We shall see what really happens.

Anyway, enjoy the recipes!

Peach Preserve:
- 12 peaches diced into eighteen pieces each (I believe you can cut them smaller or larger if you want)
- 5 cups of sugar
- 4 tblspns bourbon (this is whiskey made in Kentucky people. Jack is not a bourbon as it is made in Tennessee)
- cinnamon, nutmeg, etc. if you want a spiced preserve.

mix peaches and suger (and other spices together if you want) together in a large pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for roughly 2hrs over low heat till everything is one sticky mess. At this point it should look like something you put on toast. Pour in your bourbon at the end. Next pour into jars and seal! Simple and easy!


Pickled Carrots
- carrots (as many as you want)
- dill
- garlic
- 1 cup vinegar
- 1 and 1/4 cup water
- 1 tblspn salt
- 2 tblspn sugar
- dash of pepper

Bring all ingredients except carrots to boil. Pour mixture over carrots in a jar. Let sit for a few days and enjoy!

Competition

So before I officially re-launch the blog with new recipes and adventures I just need to mention that my boyfriend is obviously competing with me for attention. Though his writing skills may be better than mine, and his meticulous attention to detail probably makes his baked goods more consistent than mine (silly him, he thinks his cookies are better than mine)when you do repeated batches, I have a leg up on him with cooking. Plus, I can eat nuts, fish, and pitted fruit and he cant. This means freedom for me! I can cook/eat anything I want while he's down in Durham and I'm up in DC. Muahaha. Anyway...go check him out here! I'm off to go buy myself some bourbon so I can make some peach preserves and drink some while I pickle some carrots.

Cheers!

Master's Thesis is Completed!!! Which means....

So I'm truly sorry for not baking and blogging. Life has been completely filled with nothing but data analysis and writing about data analysis. If anyone is interested in my thesis entitled "Enrollment in Success Courses: Completion Rates and Developmental Education in the North Carolina Community College System" please let me know. Just for fun I'll post my executive summary at the end. Not like anyone is really going to read it...but...

Anyway. So just to update the world that I am back on my baking kick and to start it off I made some lemon curd tartletts topped with raspberries. Yum! I of course used my homemade lemon curd and for the dough I made Dorie's sable cookies. Personally it came out more sugar-cookie-ish than shortbread cookie-ish. So I think for actual shortbread I'll stick with Ina Garten's recipe. Oh and I can't wait to go strawberry, blueberry, and peach picking this summer so I can make strawberry, blueberry, and peach breads, pies, tarts, and curd!!!

As for other things that I have backed in the absence of blogging is a cheesecake finally!!. Here are pictures of it. Joel and I made a raspberry coolie for it. Doesn't it look pretty! And of course it is Dorie's cheesecake recipe. Joel prefers his King Aurthur one though which is much denser. Dorie's one was nice and light, which I personally prefer.

As for recipes...email me if you feel a need for any of them. I don't know who reads this still due to my absence. Email is kelsey.yamasaki@gmail.com!

Ok folks. Back to washing the dishes. Enjoy the read of my executive summary!

Executive Summary

The purpose of this paper is to determine whether enrollment in a success course improves the likelihood that a community college student will complete an associate’s degree. Attention is paid in particular to students in developmental education, commonly known as remediation, because they are typically the least likely to complete an associate’s degree.

Introduction

Evidence indicates that individuals who complete a community college credential have better economic outcomes than individuals with only a high school diploma. However, the vast majority of students who start pursuing a community college credential never complete their studies. Nationally, only 36% of first-time, credential-seeking community college students graduate within six years, while in North Carolina less than 25% graduate. For students who enroll in developmental education, graduation rates are even lower. In North Carolina, less than 22% of students in developmental education graduate within six years.

To improve graduation rates, North Carolina community colleges have begun providing students with the opportunity to enroll in success courses. Designated as Academic Related (ACA), success courses are one-credit electives that are designed to offer students an understanding of college resources; strategies for effective studying, research, and communication; and guidance on developing personal and academic action plans. However, it is unknown whether enrollment in an ACA improves a student’s likelihood of completing an associate’s degree.

Prior Research

Previous research has found that students who enroll in a success course are more likely to graduate than their peers who do not. However, the body of research on success courses has not been able to conclusively demonstrate that success courses are the cause of these higher graduation rates Researchers have been unable to control for the fact that success courses are electives that only certain types of students choose to take. As a result, previous research may be overestimating the effect of enrollment in a success course if solely academically-prepared and motivated students choose to enroll. Conversely, previous research may be underestimating the effect of success courses if only academically unprepared or unmotivated students are forced to enroll by their academic advisers.

Data and Methods

The North Carolina Community System (NCCCS) provided me with six years of student-level data on the cohort of first-time, credential-seeking students who entered the system in Fall 2003. Among the students in the cohort, 25% graduated within six years, 32% enrolled in an ACA, and 54% enrolled in developmental education.

Preliminary descriptive statistics indicate that students who enroll in an ACA graduate at higher rates than their peers who do not enroll in an ACA. Twenty-eight percent of students who enrolled in an ACA graduated while only 23% of students who did not enroll in an ACA graduated. Descriptive statistics also indicate that students in developmental education graduate at higher rates if they enroll in an ACA. Twenty-four percent who enrolled in an ACA graduated while only 20% of those who did not graduated.

To isolate the effect of ACA enrollment on graduation from the effects of student characteristics, such as academic ability, socio-economic status, and motivation, I used the following econometric methods:

• OLS regressions to control for observable characteristics, such as developmental education placement levels and Pell Grant receipt, which also influence whether a student will graduate;

• Nearest-neighbor matching (NNM) to create a statistical control group of students who looked like students who enrolled in an ACA on every observable characteristic so that appropriate comparisons could be made; and

• Instrumental variables (IV) to address problems of endogeneity, or reverse causality. In other words, specific variables that only affect whether students enroll in ACAs and not whether they will graduate were used to control for self-selection into ACAs.

Findings and Policy Implications

Enrollment in an ACA improves the likelihood that a student will complete an associate’s degree, but may not improve the likelihood of completing an associate’s degree if that student is enrolled in developmental education.

On average, I found that enrollment in an ACA improves a student’s likelihood of completing an associate’s degree. My effect estimates ranged from a high of 7.7 percentage points using OLS, which does not fully control for the self-selection problems, to 3.7 percentage points using an IV approach that more fully corrects for self-selection. Among students in developmental education I found that enrollment in an ACA has a smaller effect. My effect estimates range from a high of 5.3 percentage points using OLS to 1.2 percentage points using an IV approach. However, using an IV approach, I cannot reject the possibility that, among students in developmental education, ACA enrollment has no effect on the likelihood that a students will complete an associate’s degree.

Additional analysis using OLS regressions shows that it makes no difference in which semester a student enrolls in an ACA their first or second semester; enrollment in an ACA may not benefit Pell Grant recipients or students with a GED or adult high school diploma; and that ACA 111 College Student Success may be the only effective ACA.

My findings suggest that the NCCCS may want to restructure the content of ACAs to make them more effective for students in developmental education. Furthermore, the NCCCS should consider whether it is cost-effective to provide ACAs given that the effects of enrollment are small and possibly insignificant for students in developmental education.

Paula Deen at DPAC

So wish I could go!!!! If I can't at least I'll have cook's illustrated to hold me as I dream of watching the Southern Sweetheart of butter cook.