The Chew is one of my favorite shows.  I never thought I would be one of those people that record daytime television shows but, alas, not a (week)day goes by that it is not on my DVR.  I can't get enough of Clinton, Michael, Carla, Daphne and Mario!  With that said, I just submitted my first creation to "My Bites" and I wanted join the food blog bandwagon for a moment and share it with ya'll.  

I love dessert.  But living alone I can never get all the way through a full cake before it starts to get dried out, stale or moldy.  So, I created this small, brownie-like skillet cake that is perfect for a couple days of satisfying that sweet tooth!  So without further adieu....

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp butter
  
• some semi-sweet chocolate chips
  

              the exact amount depends how chocolaty I'm feeling that day :)

• 1 egg white
  
• 2 Tbsp sugar
  
• 1 tsp vanilla
  
• 3 Tbsp brown rice flour
  
• 1 Tbsp corn starch
  
• 1/8 tsp xanthan gum
  
• heaping 1/4 tsp baking powder
  
• pinch of salt
  
• 1 1/2 Tbsp milk
  

Materials:

• 6" cast iron skillet (or cake pan)
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325.
   
2. Melt chocolate chips and butter.
   
3. Whisk together chocolate/butter mixture, egg white, sugar and vanilla.
   
4. Add rice flour, corn starch, xanthan gum, baking powder and salt and stir until smooth.
   
5. Stir in milk.
   
6. Pour into small cast iron skillet and bake for about 15-17 minutes or until set.
   

Top with powdered sugar or your favorite frosting!  ENJOY!

Update 1/25/2013:  My creation was accepted and has been added to theChew.com!  Check it out here!

During a talk for the Genetics Graduate Student Association, a faculty member said when you are working on something that makes a profit, you never think about money, but when you’re working on something that doesn’t, money is all you think about.

Shifting gears from working in conservation as an undergrad and volunteer into entering graduate school and trying to make it into a career has made the difficulty of finding funding for conservation projects a prominent feature in my day to day life.  I am currently in the process of trying to find a suitable lab for me to work in for my PhD.   And for me, funding-wise, it’s a double wammy because I have been working on a previous project which currently doesn’t have its own funding.  So, not only do I have to find a lab which is doing work I am interested in and has enough money to let me join but, because most labs don’t even have enough money to fund their own projects, let alone mine, if I want to do the CCF project while I’m here, I have to acquire my own funding for it.  Now if this were the type of research the government and private organizations fund regularly, such as pharmaceuticals, cancer, etc., this wouldn’t be a huge issue.  But because I am in the field of conservation, I keep hitting the “that project sounds very interesting/I would love to have you do a rotation in my lab but I don’t have any funding” roadblock.  Now, here lies the real conundrum:

I agree with the motivation behind this statement.  However, I don’t believe that there isn't a species that doesn't have a benefit.  It may not be a direct benefit, but take any species out of an ecosystem and there’s going to be some kind of effect.  Therefore, conservation of anything can be deemed beneficial when done so responsibly.  But, back to the topic at hand, what do you need to be able to “restore and preserve as much habitat as possible”?  Money.  And, as much as I hate the fact that money is what makes the world go round, it would be irresponsible, and counterproductive, to ignore it.

One of the reasons I have so much respect for the Cheetah Conservation Fund is that they realized this conundrum and embraced it.  They have many projects (i.e. Cheetah Country Beef and Bushblok) which have a benefit for both the ecology of Namibia and the economy of its people.   What we as conservationist need to do is take a realistic approach linking immediate benefit for the people with long term benefit for the environment.  Once we find that niche, finding funding becomes easier and we can build on our efforts of conservation, whatever it is we are trying to conserve.

My amazing cousin and aunt have finally launched their website, CurryGirlsKitchen.com!  All about making delicious and nutritious concoctions, Megan, a certified holistic health coach, and Peggy Curry, a "healthy-food crusader" as the founder of Growing Great, give you all the tips and tricks you need to have a happy and healthy relationship with food.  I have learned so much about food from these women over the years and I highly recommend everyone taking full advantage of their knowledge! 

"In fact, we have now found over one hundred of [this type of hellish planet], rending them so common that the question really emerges, which ones are the weirdos, them or us?"
      ~Prof Geoff Marcy, astronomer, University of California Berkley

Sometimes I wish they still had supper clubs like the did the forties with the big bands, cocktails, dinner & dancing and that men still always wore suits with hats, no matter the occasion... by the way, just saw Gangster Squad and it was AMAZING! Didn't hurt the likability of the movie that Ryan Gosling in a three piece suit is just down right yummy!