I’m in the home stretch of Infinite Jest, with fewer than 100 pages to go in the novel, and only short end notes remain. I was reading along with Infinite Summer, which had an end goal of September 21, but I had the week to myself, so decided to read ahead. I’ve continued to love this long, weird, wild book.
Note that I saw the original Day the Earth Stood Still (not the recent remake), shown by Take-Up Productions at the Heights Theater. After a space ship lands on the White House lawn, a man claiming to be from space emerges and says he needs to speak to the world leaders.
Klaatu: I am fearful when I see people substituting fear for reason.
When Klaatu is told his request is impossible–how can all the nations agree on anything?–and imprisoned, he escapes to find a way to get his message of peace to the Earth. He stays in a boarding house where he meets a single mother and her son. When Klaatu is threatened, his protector robot, Gort, in turn threatens the Earth. The mother and her son must find a way to prevent this.
This is a great movie, a classic, and one I’m sorry I hadn’t seen till now. The look is impressive, and the tension and threat of the story are palpable. Bernard Hermann, better known for his work with Hitchcock, used theremins to foster uneasiness in the viewer. Additionally, this is a referent for so many science-fiction works that came after it. Gort looks very much like a prototypical Cylon from Battlestar Galactica, and I now understand the reference in Evil Dead to “Klaatu Barada Nikto”.
I think this will be a good movie to watch with my 3 and 6yo kids when they’re a little older, as a discussion starter for things like national violence and racism.
This summer is the first I’ve done a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share from a local farm, Foxtail Farm. Two thirds of the way through summer and I’m feeling burnt out on veg. Some of this is circumstantial: my 3 and 5yo boys will eat little of what arrives in our weekly box except carrots. Some of it is seasonal: summer is high growing season, so there’s a use-it-or-lose-it aspect for the increasing volume of fresh produce. Finally, though, it hits me in my week spots of anxiety and compulsion–I feel anxious about having to use up the veg, and compelled to use them in creative ways, which generally involved a lot of cooking or prep.
I’m not sure what the solution is. No CSA next year? Go down to a quarter share from a half weekly, or alternate weekly half shares with another family? Stop trying to be creative and just steam things in great batches? I love cooking in season with fresh local produce, supporting local farmers, and to a point I love the challenge of cooking what shows up, but I need to find a way that’s less exhausting to me. Fortunately, though, the prep pays off; most of what we make is quite tasty.
A trio of salads from last week, looking pale and rather yucky, hence the small photo. Trust me, they were delicious, and beautiful to look at when fresh:
The red salad top left is from Mark Bittman’s 101 Salads for the Season, salad #1 tomato and watermelon with feta in a
Basil Vinaigrette from Cook’s Country:
3/4 cup olive oil
2 cups chopped fresh basil
1 shallot , peeled
1 clove garlic clove , peeled
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard1. Heat 1/4 cup oil with 1 cup basil in medium saucepan over medium heat until basil turns bright green and small bubbles appear, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off heat and steep 5 minutes.
2. Process shallot, garlic, vinegar, water, salt, pepper, and mustard in blender until garlic and shallot are finely chopped, about 15 seconds. With blender running, slowly add remaining oil and steeped basil oil and continue to process until dressing is smooth and emulsified, about 15 seconds. Pack remaining basil into blender and process until dressing is smooth, about 15 seconds. (Dressing can be refrigerated in airtight container for up to 3 days.)
At bottom is salad #39, corn, Yucatan-style sauteed in a skillet, then tossed with lime juice, feta, quartered cherry tomatoes, and cayenne.
On the right is corn again, this time with quinoa (the recipe calls for farro, I’ve also used pearled barley to good effect) with goat cheese and green beans. This recipe, from Epicurious, is delicious. My friend LH made it for our book group, and I’ve made it twice since.
Chicken, Green Bean, Corn, and Farro Salad with Goat Cheese Bon Appétit | August 2009Farro is a nutty-flavored grain that’s popular in Tuscany. It’s not as heavy as some other whole grains, but it’s still packed with protein, fiber, magnesium, and vitamins A, B, C, and E. Here, it’s the base for a satisfying summer salad. Yield: Makes 4 servings
1/2 cup semi-pearled farro* or spelt berries
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
8 ounces skinless boneless chicken breast halves
12 ounces green beans, trimmed, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 cups fresh yellow corn kernels (cut from 2 to 3 ears of corn)
3 green onions, thinly sliced (about 3/4 cup)
1 tablespoon minced fresh marjoram
1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons minced shallot
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
4 ounces fresh goat cheese, crumbled (about 1 1/4 cups)
preparationCook farro in medium saucepan of boiling salted water until just tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain; cool.
Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken to skillet; cook until golden brown and cooked through, about 8 minutes per side. Cool, then cut into 1/2- to 3/4-inch cubes. Cook green beans in large saucepan of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Drain. Rinse under cold water to cool; drain. Transfer beans to kitchen towel; pat dry.
Mix farro, chicken, and green beans in large bowl; add corn and green onions.
Combine remaining 2 tablespoons oil, marjoram, and 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt in small bowl. Press with back of spoon to release flavor. Whisk in vinegar, shallot, and mustard. Pour over salad in bowl; toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Salad can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.
Divide chilled or room-temperature salad among plates. Sprinkle with goat cheese.
* Available at specialty foods stores, natural foods stores, and Italian markets.
Something else the boys wouldn’t eat was zucchini bread, recipe from Cook’s Country:
Zucchini Bread
Cut large zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds with a spoon before shredding.
Makes one 9-inch loaf or 4 mini loaves
1 pound zucchini
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon lemon juice
6 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted and cooled1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Generously coat 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
2. Shred zucchini on large holes of box grater, then place in clean dish towel and squeeze out as much moisture as you’re able. Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, and salt in large bowl. Whisk sugar, yogurt, eggs, lemon juice, and butter in bowl until combined.
3. Gently fold yogurt mixture and zucchini into flour mixture using spatula until just combined. Transfer batter to prepared pan.
4. Bake until golden brown and skewer inserted in center comes out with a few crumbs attached, 45 to 55 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack to cool at least 1 hour. (Bread can be wrapped in plastic and stored at room temperature for 3 days.)
To sweeten the deal for the boys (and me) I made
Zesty Apricot Cream Cheese Spread
8 ounces cream cheese , at room temperature
1/3 cup apricot jam
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon zestWith rubber spatula, combine cream cheese, apricot jam, confectioners’ sugar, and lemon zest in bowl until smooth.
The spatula left things unattractively lumpy, though it still tasted great. I’d use a food processor next time. And still, the boys refused this.
I used the rest of the basil vinaigrette with potatoes and a pickling cucumber, the latter was a great addition to the salad:
And then this is about a quarter share (I gave half of my half to a friend) from last Thursday, which felt much more manageable:
Corn, dill, zuke, onion, chard, carrots, green beans, cukes (hiding) and potatoes.
With it I made the corn and green bean salad from above, a chard frittata with dill, cucumbers in a dill yogurt sauce (that I served alongside poached Alaskan salmon), and one of my all time favorite potato recipes:
Roasted Potato Slices with Lime and ChiliCan be prepared in 45 minutes or less.
Yield: Serves 2
ingredients
two 1/2-pound russet (baking) potatoes
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
preparationPreheat oven to 450°F.
Peel potatoes and halve lengthwise. Cut potatoes crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices and on a baking sheet toss with oil and salt and pepper to taste. Bake potatoes in one layer in middle of oven, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes, or until golden.
In a bowl stir together mayonnaise, lime juice, and chili powder. Add warm potatoes and combine well.
I recommend dividing the potatoes up before eating. Serious struggles have occurred when my husband G. Grod and I have tried to share the bowl. And we’re always disappointed at the end, in spite of having just devoured a whole pound of potatoes between us.
The first time I watched Akira Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood, I feel asleep about 50 minutes in. I’d just read and seen a stage production of Shakespeare’s MacBeth at the time, which is the source material. This week I tried again, starting at the beginning. I fell asleep at the same place. To be fair, though, I started watching much too late, so I wasn’t in optimal viewing mode.
I did finally finish it in two more sittings. Toshiro Mifune is the MacBeth character, Washizu. After a great victory in battle, he and his friend Miki discover a spirit in the forest who predicts that Washizu will be king, as will Miki’s sons.
The story proceeds mostly according to the play, but what makes this movie powerful and unique are the stunning visuals and the transposition of the story to feudal Japan. Also fascinating is the Japanese version of Macbeth and his lady. Lady Washizu speaks softly with goading words. She is all the more frightening for her passivity, and the power she wields with it.
Admirable, my Lord. You, who would soon rule the world, allow a ghost to frighten you.
The ending splits from the text. While the trees of the forest do rise, it is not a MacDuff character who undoes Washizu, but his own men, an unthinkable act of rebellion enacted in a flurry of arrows (most of them real!). Well worth it for fans of Shakespeare, film and Kurosawa, but be sure you’ll alert before you begin, so you can fully appreciate the visual treats to come.
On Saturday, I stopped at Local D’lish, and picked up the Sweets cupcakes of the day: grapefruit sparkler, chocolate-i and coconut ginger. All lovely, and all tasty. I also couldn’t resist Bliss granola, Bramblewood shortbread, and Obsession truffles.
Because I have no restraint, I stopped at Surdyk’s cheese shop next, since I was passing right BY it, and got two bars of Rogue chocolate and a bag of Rustica bakery’s double chocolate cookies.
It was all local! It’s good to be a foodie in Minnesota.
(OK readers, this should have bigger, more detailed photos. They’re from facebook, though, so they won’t get past a work firewall; sorry!)
Sometimes, I wonder why I try. G Grod mentioned he’d like to make pizza. I found a recipe in Cook’s Country, used it as an excuse to finally buy myself a set of 9″ pie pans, and we made this:
Drake loved it and ate three pieces. Guppy wouldn’t eat it at all. I may try again without pepperoni, but making yeast pizza dough from scratch is an undertaking.
Pepperoni Pan Pizza from Cook’s Country
Makes two 9-inch pizzas serving 4 to 6
Dough
1/2 cup olive oil
3/4 cup skim milk plus 2 additional tablespoons, warmed to 110 degrees
2 teaspoons sugar
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour , plus extra for counter
1 package instant yeast
1/2 teaspoon table salt
Topping
1 (3.5-ounce) package sliced pepperoni
1 1/3 cups tomato sauce (see related recipe, “Basic Pizza Sauce”)
3 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1. To make the dough: Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 200 degrees. When oven reaches 200 degrees, turn it off. Lightly grease large bowl with cooking spray. Coat each of two 9-inch cake pans with 3 tablespoons oil.
2. Mix milk, sugar, and remaining 2 tablespoons oil in measuring cup. Mix flour, yeast, and salt in standing mixer fitted with dough hook. Turn machine to low and slowly add milk mixture. After dough comes together, increase speed to medium-low and mix until dough is shiny and smooth, about 5 minutes. Turn dough onto lightly floured counter, gently shape into ball, and place in greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in warm oven until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
3. To shape and top the dough: Transfer dough to lightly floured counter, divide in half, and lightly roll each half into ball. Working with 1 dough ball at a time, roll and shape dough into 9 1/2-inch round and press into oiled pan. Cover with plastic wrap and set in warm spot (not in oven) until puffy and slightly risen, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oven to 400 degrees.
4. While dough rises, put half of pepperoni in single layer on microwave-safe plate lined with 2 paper towels. Cover with 2 more paper towels and microwave on high for 30 seconds. Discard towels and set pepperoni aside; repeat with new paper towels and remaining pepperoni.
5. Remove plastic wrap from dough. Ladle 2/3 cup sauce on each round, leaving 1/2-inch border around edges. Sprinkle each with 1 1/2 cups cheese and top with pepperoni. Bake until cheese is melted and pepperoni is browning around edges, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven; let pizzas rest in pans for 1 minute. Using spatula, transfer pizzas to cutting board and cut each into 8 wedges. Serve.
Our box from our Community Supported Agriculture share had yellow squash and beets. It’s was nearing the end of the week, so I steamed the former, roasted the latter, then pureed
to make the Yellow Cake with Raspberry Swirl from Jessica Seinfeld’s Deceptively Delicious.
I added cream cheese frosting and fresh berries.
The kids were not fooled. The raspberry puree, while lovely, did not disguise the flavor of the beets enough. It got more pronounced after baking. So the boys wouldn’t eat this. Note to self: beets are not disguise-able. If I’d just made the yellow cake with squash I think that would’ve worked.
Then I found myself with leftover lemon cream cheese frosting. What to do; what to do?
And since the boys didn’t eat the cake, I didn’t bother to offer them these.
Mine. All mine.
Fargo is regarded by many as the Coen Brothers’ best film, and my husband G. Grod and I hadn’t seen it since it came out, which was before we moved to Minnesota. We re-watched it the other night and liked it more than I remembered.
William H. Macy (who had to lobby HARD for the part) is a dorky guy who tries to fake his wife’s kidnapping so he can get the ransom. He hires Steven Buscemi and a scary-looking guy and of course things go very wrong. Frances McDormand (or Mrs. Joel Coen) is the local police in Brainerd. Seven months pregnant, eating at an Old Country Buffet with her high-school sweetheart husband, Marge is an average person who is a good detective, but baffled at the crimes that develop.
I’m not sure I agree with you a hundred percent on your police work, there, Lou.
It’s dark, it’s funny, it’s eminently quotable.
I guess that was your accomplice in the wood chipper.
It’s a good satire of Minnesotan accents and culture. But it’s also too dark and violent for me, at least some of the time. Good, and one of their best, but even so not one of my favorites (which are Blood Simple, Miller’s Crossing, and The Big Lebowski.) G. Grod’s favorite is Miller’s Crossing, which he showed me when we were dating.
The credits claim a cameo that didn’t occur. The story both was and wasn’t based on real events. And kudos to local actor Sally Wingert who has a small part in the film; I KNEW she looked familiar!
Wendy and Lucy was on many critics’ best-of-2008 lists. Michelle Williams is traveling to Alaska with her dog Lucy when her car breaks down. Several upsetting things happen. Wendy hums a lot, and calls for Lucy a lot. Several very sad things happen. This film is like a poem–a brief, lovely, impressionistic take on loneliness and poverty in America. Very good if you’re up for that sort of thing, but slow or depressing if you’re not.
This dish is so good, and so easy, and THE KIDS EVEN EAT IT! that I thought it deserved its own post. No photo, but take my word on it.
Last week’s CSA farm share box included a bunch of potatoes and a bunch of sage. I bought some chicken tenders, threw in some green beans and voila: dinner.
Skillet Chicken and Potatoes (from Cook’s Country)
If you prefer, substitute fresh thyme or oregano for the sage.
Serves 4
1 pound small red potatoes , halved
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 boneless, skinless chicken cutlets (6 to 7 ounces each), trimmed
Table salt and ground black pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1. Toss potatoes and 1 tablespoon oil together in microwave-safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high power until tender, 4 to 5 minutes, tossing potatoes halfway through cooking.
2. Place flour in shallow dish. Season chicken with salt and pepper, dredge in flour, and shake to remove excess. Melt 1 tablespoon butter with remaining 2 tablespoons oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. When foam subsides, cook chicken until browned on both sides, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to plate, leaving fat in skillet, and cover chicken with foil.
3. Reduce heat to medium, add potatoes, cut side down, and cook until browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to platter. Add broth, sage, and lemon juice and, using wooden spoon, scrape browned bits from skillet. Return chicken and accumulated juices to pan and simmer until sauce is slightly thickened and chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer chicken to platter with potatoes. Whisk remaining tablespoon butter into sauce, season with salt and pepper, and pour sauce over chicken and potatoes. Serve.
Heads up: Mad Men season 3 debuts this Sunday on AMC at 10p/9 Central. Don returned to Betty, hat in hand (literally) at the end of last season. There will be a jump ahead in time, so we’ll see when that lands us with the Drapers and the crew at Sterling Cooper.
For an incisive analysis of Season 2’s camera work, Film Freak Central has a great retrospective and comparison to Hitchcock. I can’t believe it didn’t occur to me before that Betty is so like Hitchcock’s icy tormented blondes.
And for fun, design a Mad Men icon of yourself here if you haven’t already. Here’s mine, though I’m annoyed that they don’t have a hair shade that’s outright red, like Joan’s:
I’m rereading the graphic novel collections of Alan Moore’s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen series, and just finished the very enjoyable Volume 2. I read it when it came out serially in comic book form, and remember enjoying it less. There were long waits between issues, and they were quite heavy with backmatter that I didn’t enjoy. In the graphic novel collection, I am able to read the entire comic story at once, and the backmatter is collected in the back. That’s where it should stay, IMO. Forty-six pages of single spaced text as Alan Moore does a mock travelogue of every fictional or mythical locale IN THE WORLD. I knew the references to some. I might have enjoyed it more had I known more of them, but I doubt it. Instead, my friend Blogenheimer suggested I visit Jess Nevins’ site, where he breaks down all the references.
Back to the Volume 2 story, though. The team of irregulars–Mina Murray, the Invisible Man, Edward Hyde, Captain Nemo and Allan Quatermain–are under new leadership, after the events in volume 1 and are dispatched to the site of what appears to be a meteor crater. The monsters from Mars soon reveal themselves, and begin traipsing about in distinctive-looking vehicles. It’s up to the team of misfits to save the day, and they’re aided by a reclusive and mysterious doctor.
In addition to the Sherlock Holmes and Quatermain stories, Dracula, The Invisible Man, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, volume 2 references other Victorian literature, including Gulliver’s Travels, Burroughs’ John Carter of Mars, War of the Worlds, and The Island of Dr. Moreau.
This is an adventure–sometimes tragic, sometime comic, but always engaging. I found it great fun, once I stopped reading the backmatter.
Years ago, I read Julie Powell’s blog The Julie/Julia Project, about cooking her way through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. It was good and funny, yet I think I dropped out around the time she worked on aspics. Their meaty quiver, the late hours to cook and consume them, plus the cost of ingredients all combined to make my head hurt. When Julie published her book, I thought it was great. And when the book was slated to become Julie & Julia, the movie with Meryl Streep and Amy Adams, even better.
I had a great time at this movie. I laughed a lot, and went ooh over some of the shots of food. I thought that the aural analogy between kissing and eating was heavy handed, but certainly appropriate to the subject matter. Adams was engaging as always, though perhaps not quite believable as an every-girl. Streep and Stanley Tucci all but steal the movie, with their stunning performances of a true power couple in love.
A lot of the reviews gripe that the Julia Child part is so much better than the Julie Powell part that they wish it had been all Streep as Child. They argue that Powell is self-involved and just not that interesting. That’s an opinion, but I’d like to remind them:
THIS MOVIE WOULD NOT EXIST IF NOT FOR JULIE POWELL.
Nor would the Julia Child renaissance that the movie, and Streep’s performance particularly, have spurred. Because it was Julie Powell who had an idea for the project to cook her way through a dusty old cookbook. Like Child before her, she brought classic French cooking to a modern American audience. So I think it’s unkind to dismiss Powell’s part in the film. Child inspired Powell, and Powell in turn inspired others to rediscover Child. Child’s teaching and inspiration are key to her legacy, so Powell’s role as disciple in real life and the film are necessary to show that. I was glad to have the two stories, and enjoyed Adams as a young woman struggling to find meaning in spite of a cubicle job and a stalled writing hobby. So go see the movie. It’s good. And if you enjoy it, be grateful to Julie Powell (still blogging, here), even if you like Julia Child more. Julie’s the reason you’re getting to know Julia, whose kitchen wisdom I’ll be thinking of for a long time:
Never apologize! (for food you’ve cooked) No excuses! No explanations!
One summer, two seasons of The Wire so I could follow along with Sepinwall, and it’s well worth watching, as almost everyone but us knew.
Season Two goes beyond the drug culture of Season One, though it’s more than tangentially related to it. A serious crime at the docks becomes the new focus and brings viewers into the dying culture of the stevedores. The Sobotka famiy–Frank, his son Ziggy and nephew Nick–are the main characters this season. Most of the Police are struggling in their new lives, at least until Prez tries to get the band back together. McNulty becomes a bit player as others take the stage, with both Kima and Daniels getting more air time. As in Season One, nothing is simple and everything connects and loops back on itself. Like the Greek tragedy it pays homage to, The Wire’s stories and characters are riveting and moving–Stringer Bell is cold, McNulty’s a mess, Amy Ryan’s Bedie is beyond sympathetic, and trickster figure Omar continues to shock and amaze.
G. and I are taking a break for vacation, and will have to see whether we’ll try for Season Three before the fall TV season begins. At this point I’d like to continue through to the end. I’ve had one major development spoiled for me, and would like to keep it at one.
I’m fifteen. I see National Lampoon’s Vacation. Chevy Chase IS my dad, insisting on driving the family truckster when flying is so much easier, taking along loud-snoring elderly relatives, encouraging me to get my head out of my book and pay attention to sights like the biggest ball of twine.
I’m sixteen. I see Sixteen Candles. Not only is it hilarious, I identify with the main character. Short red hair, funny looking, not noticed by guys? Yeah. Then she ends up with Jake Ryan? It’s the most romantic movie ever, and gives me hope.
I’m almost seventeen, and grounded for something. Staying out past curfew? Wrecking the car? Getting caught drinking? So many possible infractions. My younger sister A. and her friend LT want to go see The Breakfast Club. My parents decide to go too and ask me (probably graciously, in spite of how obnoxious I was at the time, i.e. a 16yo) if I’d like to go. I’m torn. We live in a small, small town. I want to see the movie. I’m furious at being grounded. I risk humiliation if I’m seen at theater with parents and kid sister. I go. I’m enthralled. The movie seems to be speaking just to me. I see my classmates up on screen (CD is Judd Nelson. ML is Anthony Michael Hall. CS is Emilio Estevez. TR is Molly Ringwald. KS is a burnout like Ally Sheedy and will be dead in a few years of a heroin overdose.) I see myself as a mix of the Molly Ringwald character (I cut school to go tanning, not shopping, though) and the Anthony Michael Hall character (I was a “brain,” you see.) On the ride home, I’m silent. I can’t believe how awesome that movie was.
I’m eighteen when I see Pretty in Pink. I wince when Andie is taunted by James Spader. I know a guy like that. I have no prom date. I like the ending; I WANT her to end up with Blaine. The dress was prettier before she messed with it, though. The lights go up. Two rows in front of me is the guy I have a crush on. He says hi. Two weeks later he asks my best friend to prom. She says no. A really nice guy JG and his friend SK ask me and her. We say no, we have plans to go with a group. I will always regret this.
I’m eighteen, and with my friend who’s a boy, C in his car at a drive-in double feature of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Pretty in Pink (again). We drink wine coolers the color of Andie’s prom dress and smoke Marlboro Lights. Before the movie we listen to cassette tapes of OMD and Psychedelic Furs. We say we can’t wait for college and to get out of our small town. We think we’ll always be friends. This turns out not to be true.
John Hughes wrote and directed some of my favorite movies. Because of how it got imprinted on me, Breakfast Club will always be a touchstone. His work spoke to me at a time when I could hardly listen to anything. It helped me get through my teens (which wasn’t a sure thing; see paragraph 3). I’m grateful I had those movies, and I’m sad he’s gone.
In Michael Pollan’s recent NYT magazine cover story, “Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch” he writes about the TV/food continuum that started with Julia Child and now includes at least one network devoted to Food and a slew of other food and cooking shows.
Pollan makes the distinction that Julia Child was about taking the fear out of cooking and teaching people HOW to cook, where today’s shows like Top Chef are less about day-to-day cooking skills and more about a high level of technical skill. Today’s TV chefs are fun to watch, but Pollan claims they may actually discourage people from cooking, as what they’re doing is impractical or impossible for a home cook (molecular gastronomy, anyone?)
Pollan acknowledges that the shows do seem to give audiences a familiarity with ingredients formerly reserved for chefs and specialty stores. He claims this makes people better restaurant patrons. I feel instead it makes me a more educated cook. I also think he overstates the case about how disparate the shows are from reality, too.
But you do have to wonder how easily so specialized a set of skills might translate to the home kitchen – or anywhere else for that matter. For when in real life are even professional chefs required to conceive and execute dishes in 20 minutes from ingredients selected by a third party exhibiting obvious sadistic tendencies? (String cheese?) Never, is when. The skills celebrated on the Food Network in prime time are precisely the skills necessary to succeed on the Food Network in prime time. They will come in handy nowhere else on God’s green earth.
Really, Mr. Pollan? How long has it been since you’ve cooked for children, especially small ones? Almost every day, I start to prepare the family supper, my kids wander in, telling me how hungry they are in plaintive voices. I offer several suggestions; most are rejected. My preparation is usually interrupted for a negotiation while I try to figure out what will placate them, not spoil their dinner and is reasonably healthful. Even if I get initial buy in, what I produce is often rejected. So yes, I am quite familiar with having to prepare small plates, sometimes involving string cheese, for sadistic consumers while trying to do other cooking activities in a short amount of time.
In fact, here’s a Top Chef Quickfire challenge idea, Bravo: have the chefs prepare a family dinner while also feeding a hungry, whiny 3yo, while also keeping the kid safe in the kitchen.
Back to Pollan’s article, though. He finds that cooking and weight are inversely related. The more one cooks, the less one weighs and vice versa. He acknowledges that different households have different families–single parent and double working parent homes are going to have less time, energy and inclination to cook. He doesn’t, though, offer good solutions for this.
There’s where Mark Bittman is a busy person’s friend. Bittman offers great ideas for seasonal food cooked simply on his blog, Bitten, as well as in his book, Food Matters. His recent article of “101 Salads for the Season” contains very little actual cooking, but still uses whole ingredients in the manner Pollan recommends.
Pollan’s ideas are good, but they’re more ideal than practical. For that, visit Bittman and check out his books. And watch food TV if you want, as inspiration or entertainment. I’ve found good recipes for the family, gotten good ideas like mixing rice into green salads, and learned the lesson that Pollan states, too:
the key to victory on any of these shows comes down to one factor: bacon. Whichever contestant puts bacon in the dish invariably seems to win.
Did anyone else besides me think longingly of jetting to England last year to see Dr. Who’s David Tennant as Hamlet? Well, no need for regrets. PBS will be showing Tennant’s Hamlet as part of Great Performances in 2010. I am thrilled.
This month’s selection for my book group is The Ayatollah Begs to Differ by Hooman Majd. It was the pick of one member who is married to a Persian. I look forward to our discussion with her added insights about Iran.
When I look back now, both in my childhood and even as a young adult, I couldn’t have imagined my country as anything more than a second-rate Third World nation subservient to Western powers….Despite the negative connotations of a perceptibly hostile Iran, Iranians of a certain age can be forgiven for feeling a tinge of pride in their nation’s rapid ascent to a position of being taken seriously by the world’s greatest superpower and all in just a little over a quarter of a century. One might argue whether Iran and Iranians would have be better off without the Islamic Revolution of 1979. But it is indisputable that had it not happened, Iran today would likely not have much of a say in global affairs.
Rightly or wrongly, the revolution and the path the nation took after its success have led to Iran’s prominence and repute (2-3)
Majd uses Iranian myths, tales and phrases to structure his presentation of modern-day Iran and the many paradoxes of its people. Majd grew up in the West, and his in-between status as someone familiar with both cultures helps him explain things like the Iranian practice of ta-arouf, or extreme politeness, without belittling those he’s describing. His biggest challenge, though, and the focus of the book, is to illuminate why Ahmadinejad was overwhelmingly elected President by the popular vote in 2005. As Majd is careful to note, many liberal and wealthy Iranians think freedom means women can go without the veil, while for many Iranians, freedom means a full belly, and the ability to live.
This is a timely book that examines Ahmadinejad’s 2005 election just as his one this year has caused such uproar. The book was tremendously helpful in breaking down many of the media’s reductive portrayals (such as Ahmadinejad as villain) and showing how complex and intriguing the realities are.
Jhumpa Lahiri recently discovered something I’ve suspected for a while:
And that was my revelation this June: one needs only a cast-iron skillet to survive.
When I muse on what I’d pack if the apocalypse strikes (I’m not the only one who does this, right?), the cast-iron skillet is near the top of the list. (Link from The Morning News)
Readers, and please de-lurk if you’re lurking, do you like the posts on food? I’ve been posting the food on my Facebook page, then again here since it’s such a big part of our summer. But the links and images are work-intensive, so I can skip it if interest is low. Also, I can make photos bigger, so more detailed, though I’ve not done so because they’d take more time to load on screens.
I did not make those. They’re by Sheela from Miel y Leche and came from Mitrebox, on a cupcake Saturday. That’s a blackberry-lime vegan cake and a s’mores cake. The former was good, the latter was tremendous. You can sign up to receive email for the weekly flavors. This week’s are Grilled Peach Mint, Chocolate Curry with Lemongrass Coconut Buttercream and Limoncello.
These bacon-cheese cups were a request by 5yo Drake, who along with 3yo Guppy made them with G. Grod while I went to yoga class. They’re from the Southern Living Kids Cookbook, a gift from the boys’ uncle, and Drake’s current obsession.
Red salad, with WI cherry tomatoes, strawberries, basil, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and WI parmesan. Salad #13 from Mark Bittman’s 101 Salads.
Homely, but tasty and exceptionally healthy and hearty. From Mark Bittman, a savory breakfast: Barley, coconut, oat bran and fried tofu, with soy sauce, toasted sesame oil and fish sauce, topped with a fried egg.
For National Night Out last night, I made a Carrot Cake (lots of carrots to use up this week). The recipe is from Cook’s Illustrated. I added a teaspoon of cardamom, to good effect, I thought.
And I used up almost all of last week’s CSA veg in a variation on Heather’s Quinoa Salad from 101 Cookbooks. I used pearled barley instead of quinoa, added grated carrot and used chopped zucchini instead of corn.
Aside from Season 2 of Breaking Bad, which feels like it ended ages ago, I haven’t watched much new TV this summer. I really wanted to like Bravo’s Fashion Show, and I tried; I really did. Top Chef Masters has been pretty good, though not quite as diverting as the original recipe. Three things stood out, to me though: Torchwood, Dr. Who and Better Off Ted.
In lieu of Torchwood Season 3, creator Russell T. Davies did a five-night miniseries for the BBC called “Children of Earth”. The series up to this point was often entertaining, but wildly uneven. The miniseries took the team, left in shambles at the end of Season 2, and roughed them up a bit more.
An alien race uses Earth’s children as speakers, and wants to take a lot of them away. Though Davies says otherwise, the production value on the mini felt top notch. The drama was riveting, and most of the acting, particularly by the actor who played John Frobisher, was great. By the end, when things get very tense, I sat on my couch with a lump in the pit of my stomach, eyes wide and waiting, hoping for a redemptive ending.
That said, it was perhaps too dark. Part of Torchwood’s charm, when it works, is its goofy, raunchy sense of humor. There wasn’t enough of that here. Along that line, John Barrowman, who plays Torchwood leader Capt. Jack Harkness, does better, IMO, as the grinning, swashbuckling hero than when he tries to emote. He made a couple tough decisions in the last episode, and I think either alone might have made it harder for me to like him as the lead. Both together were pretty damning. I’ll be interested to see what Torchwood looks like when it returns, but I do think the miniseries is the way to go.
The Doctor Who movies, “The Next Doctor” and “Planet of the Dead” did a much better job of maintaining the character’s and series’ wacky sense of humor but also dealing with dark, sad or scary things. David Tennant’s Doctor acknowledged the losses in his past, but didn’t go out of character in reaction to them. “The Next Doctor” was shown in the UK at Christmas time, and was really good, not only in comparison to last year’s Titanic-themed, Kylie Minogue-starring mess. “Planet of the Dead” was suspenseful and entertaining, with some sweet and funny and sad thrown in for balance.
For funny, though, I’m glad that ABC ran its additional episodes of Better Off Ted. The main character is good, but it’s the kooky characters orbiting him and how he’s affected by them that really brings the funny. I’m thrilled ABC renewed this, and it will join 30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother and The Office in my upcoming comedy lineup, to break up the bleakness of shows like Torchwood and the upcoming season 3 of Mad Men.