The week of Mother’s day, I was pretty busy. I threw two dinner parties - one for some vegan friends, the other a Mother’s day bash for my mother of course! So as you could imagine, I spent a lot of time baking, and cleaning, and cooking, and doing dishes… and then I did it all over again!
I was so busy, I didn’t get the chance to post the recipes and pictures of the food from my Mother’s day party - and I came up with a big themed menu from scratch.
I wanted to have a tea party as a bit of a tribute to my mom for bringing us along to England for a family wedding last year. While there, we had tea in a little, ridiculously-named tea-house tucked into the beautiful, cobblestone lane-ways of Canterbury. I thought it’d be nice to recreate something similar.
But, of course, I live in Little India, not England. And there is (of course) a cultural connection between the two. So why not, I thought, do a little bit of fusion? So we had an Indian inspired, afternoon tea.
The menu consisted of the following
Sandwiches:
- Tandoori pork tenderloin with mango chutney
- Curried egg salad with corriander and crasins
- Cucumber with green chutney
- Iced chocolate chai tea
Desert:
- Coconut-banana scones w/ double cream and preseves
- Chai spiced shortbread
- Fruit salad (with mangos, dragon-fruit, pineapple and watermelon)
- Lady Grey tea
The big star of the evening was, I think, the cucumber sandwiches. People always underestimate a good cucumber sandwich. It seems so simple - cucumber, butter, white bread. But there’s something about it that’s heavenly.
These cucumber sandwiches in particular were made even more heavenly by the addition of a Indian condiment - green chutney: a tart, verdant, cilantro-based, fresh sauce (apparently the traditional topping for a cucumber sandwich at Indian cricket matches). It definitely added a kick to the classic canape - and to everything else we ate that week - rice, noodles, other less cucumbery sandwiches. It’s become something I love to have around. It makes a large quantity, but since there’s salt, sugar and acid in it, it’s stay fresh for a while (and it’s a great way to use up the rest of those huuuuuuuge bunches of cilantro they sell in the markets).
Green Chutney
- 2 cups cilantro (chopped)
- 1 onion (chopped)
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup flaked coconut
- 1 lemon (juice and zest)
- 1 tsp dry ginger
- 1 tsp siracha (hot sauce)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- Put everything in a blender or food processor and blend.
- Store in air-tight container in fridge.
- If using for cucumber sandwiches: drop a spoonful of chutney on slices of buttered, white bread; cover with a couple even layers of lightly-salted, thinly-sliced cucumber; top with another slice of buttered bread; cut off crusts, and into four triangles.
We have been told on a number of occasions by people whose opinions we trust that Speed Racer was actually pretty good. Which was surprising, because even though I really wanted to see it, the reviews had convinced me otherwise.
Last night, we learned it was still playing on IMAX and went to check it out for ourselves.
The IMAX theatre here in Toronto (@ John and Richmond) fits close to a thousand people. There were about eight of us when the lights went out. It was like our own personal home IMAX. Pretty awesome.
A lack of audience doesn’t bode so well for the Wachowskis however… which is sad, because you know how - maybe a year ago - you heard rumors about this flick being mind-blowing? They were all true.
The movie was excellent, saturated with colour and movement - the best kind of drug-free head-trip. The plot was easy to follow and entertaining - I didn’t think it felt overly long at all. The races were speedily kinetic and weirdly pneumatic - mesmerizing to watch. The acting was definitely one dimensional, but in a knowing way that perfectly fitted it’s source material - a cartoon. It did all this in a manner that was pretty wholesome and family friendly, so feel free to bring kids along (not too young of course, there is a bit a of implied violence - although no worse than the Home Alone movies). It was like nothing else I’ve ever seen, which is the only reason I can fathom it got such lousy reviews.
It was a great big, larger than life, caricature of the original.
A living, breathing manga.
The way the images evoked the intense world of extreme diagonals, flat characters and dense set-pieces inside Japanese comic books was breathtaking. I could see the black lines dancing at the edges of the actors faces, as though the movie would fall back into ink and newsprint at any moment.
We left the theatre charged up and energized in a way I haven’t felt in a long time - probably since I was a kid and we went to see the big blockbusters and Disney cartoons. I definitely didn’t feel that way when leaving the theatre from Ironman (which I found merely entertaining).
To anyone that is in any way a fan of Japanese art, or art in general, don’t believe Rotten Tomatoes, this movie is a must see (so go see it now if/while you still can).
Yesterday made up for all the crappy stuff that’s happened in the last couple of weeks (including - but not limited to - the top coat on my coral-coloured, venetian-plaster peeling right of my walls - I WARN YOU ALL EXPLICITLY: NEVER EVER BUY DEBBIE TRAVIS PRODUCTS THEY ARE CRAP).
But then I was in the grocery store and they had ripe tomatoes. That is all it requires for me to be happy. Jewel bright, yielding, soft, fragrant tomatoes fresh from a local hothouse. Not just red ones - no, orange and yellow too. So we celebrated with the adding to dough of cheese and tomatoes: Pizza!
I’m not going even going to bother with a real recipe, because it was too easy to make:
We marinated the sliced tomatoes in flavored oil (garlic and chili) with a generous sprinkling of oregano, basil and salt. Then we spread out (store-bought) pizza dough on a cornmeal covered pizza stone, brushed it with a little more oil, piled on the tomatoes and shredded mozza and baked it at 400 for 20 minutes. Perfection!
After a long Sunday filled with hanging laundry on the line and digging and planting (the garden is officially dug in by the way) we relaxed on our deck and watched the stars begin to twinkle, and the CN tower begin it’s LED rainbow show, accompanied by our little pizza margherita and two cold glasses of limoncello and soda.
Meanwhile, all three kitties gathered by the window and stared at us, jealously. I don’t blame them.
I’ve been looking for a new bag for pretty much ever. The one I use all the time right now is an army surplus looking messenger I got from the mens department at the gap for four bucks 7 years ago (that’s pre Liam).
I like it cause it’s rugged, but minimalist and it’s ballistic nylon stands up to anything and is neutral enough to go with most outfits - but it also is rough and eats into (and ruins) my t-shirts, has no pockets on the inside, and no zipper or proper closure at the top (which is imperative when traveling to pick-pockety tourist areas - which I would like to do from time time).
Plus, it’s wicked old, and I’m kinda sick of it.
So, I’ve been searching, and searching, and searching… It seems everything out there is either ridiculously oversized and impractical, covered in patent leather tassels, or just plain butch and sporty.
I would like to have a choice other than Carrie Bradshaw, Harajuku Girl and Soccer Mom, please and thank you - normal human being who has to carry stuff around when she goes out would be nice.
I was leaning towards this little baby. It’s just old fashioned and rustic enough for my tastes. It’s kind of Indiana Jones meets Gossip Girl.
But then. I stumbled upon these little wonders (a bag AND shoes that match).
I (as previously discussed) hate purple, but I will make an exception for these beautiful little babies (I will probably end up wussing out and getting them in neutral brown instead though).
The bag can be found here. The shoes can be found here.
They are both made by relatively small companies. The bag is even made by a company that has a commitment to being green, and not sending things out to sweatshops. Yay to that, and it’s neat, guitar-strap strap.
The shoes (even though I was not looking for them) are a particularly good find I think. I feel like they’re the kind of thing that Jordan Baker in The Great Gatsby would have worn. They’re totally a 1920’s version of sporty sneakers (you know, with super-practical platform heels and shantung silk).
Whenever people ask me what I thought of Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, usually I say I didn’t like it.
Which isn’t directly true - I did like it, in fact.
I just didn’t love it - which I think is the expected reaction to the book (I have similar feelings about Ironman). It was good, but it didn’t capture me. I think it has a compelling narrative, but the unreality of certain elements pulled me away from the whole. I just couldn’t get personally involved with the story, because it was too fantastic.
And I actually think the shock of getting personally involved with the fantastic is what draws people in to this story, and makes them laud it so.
Maybe I’ve just read too much magic realism to be surprised by such conceits.
Something that is fantastic, but wholly real is Yann Martels What is Stephen Harper reading? project/blog. It’s an oldie but a goodie. An entry Of note, is his letter about sending Jenna and Laura Bush’s recent childrens book to our Prime Minister. No mention is made of the identity of the authors.
This I love.
Another good blog find is Jezebel’s Fine Lines column. If you were a teenage girl in the last 30 years, you will love it too. Unless you were illiterate as a girl. Which I admit, is a total possibility.
Next week they will review The Girl with the Silver Eyes which was one of my favourite YA novels as a fifth grader. It reassured me that I felt like such an awkward, bespectacled, weirdo because I had magical superpowers. Duh.
So I am terribly excited about that upcoming one, in particular.
Past review of note include The Crazy Mixed Up Files of Miss Basil E. Frankweiler, the Little House on the Prarie books, and some of the more obscure Madeline L’Engle titles (not “A Wrinkle in Time,” in other words). Ummm…? Did these people find my diaries from when I was 13?
Since the damn column seems to be effectively spelunking my pre-teen-hood here’s hoping The Mysterious Disapearance of Leon (I mean Noel) makes it on the list someday soon. And maybe some Diana Wynne Jones too.
Another thing I love right now is Okami.
If you have a Wii you should RUN out and get it immediately. It’s definitely one of those games that makes having the platform worthwhile - between this and Super Mario Galaxy we’re pretty happy with our investment.
It has very similar game mechanics to the Zelda games, but takes place in a breathtakingly beautiful world, coated in floating cherry blossoms and pastoral settings.
It is rendered like a brightly coloured japanese print, coated in swashes of calligraphy - which is where one of the more innovative aspects of it’s gameplay comes from - you are given a brush loaded with black ink and must draw on your environment to enact changes. This (as you could imagine) is a lot more fun given the Wii’s controller than on the original Playstation 2 release.
The aspects of Japanese culture and folklore that are woven into the plot are also a welcome and fascinating addition. The game doesn’t spend much time explaining these elements (which will probably be quite foreign to most western audiences) and I actually quite like that about it - you are left to discern, and interpret things for yourself, which leaves the world you inhabit rich, exotic and mysterious.
Most of all I am left hungary for sushi, sake, and miso when I play this game (Katamari has a similar effect on me, but it is more direct since you are left to actually pick up japanese food with your growing Katamari ball).
And finally, you probably missed Reaper this fall. Or you might have caught the first (Kevin Smith directed) episode and moved on - understandably so. The show seemed to drag under it’s premise (a young man must complete tasks for the devil because his parents sold his soul out from under him). It became repetitive and task oriented. Not bad, just not surprising or new, like the pilot held the promise of being.
Well you should have stuck with it like we did, because as soon as it came back from the strike it came back (to quote the show) with a vengeance. Oh, and you know the fat kid from Breaker High who’s in this? Yeah, turns out he’s really, really funny. As is Micheal Ian Black, who guest stars towards the end (but you probably already knew that). As is Veronica Mar’s Ken Marino (you may remember him as Vinnie Van Lowe), also a recurring star. Actually, this show has perfect casting, right down to their chosen devil.
I think the show can now officially pick up the crown Buffy left in it’s wake for pop-culture saturated, supernatural, youthfully angsty show. Although I have to say, with it’s cadre of slacker boys as its core characters it feels more like Buffy as written by Judd Apatow.
Totally one to download, or rent when the 1st season DVD comes out.
A teensy post about The Hills (and then I’ll shut up about it forever… er, until next season at least).
This is the most genius article I have ever read about The Hills.
It explains, in a surprisingly intellectual manner, just what is so captivating about about the lives of our Lauren, Audrina, Whitney, Heidi, Spencer, Lo, Justin Bobby and Brody Jenner.
The short story: The Hills is practically Shakespearean in it’s characterization, complex enough in it’s plotting to be called a fine example of post-modernism, and in execution it shares much in common with French New Wave.
What’s not to love?
There’s this meme that’s been going around, and for once I actually decided to participate because it sounded kinda cool.
Things Of Note in this little portrait:
- This is an amalgam of my looks from between 15 and 17
- My sorta dykey haircut. I was going for Audrey Hepburn/Wynona Ryder. I’m not sure I quite got there. I did get asked if I was a lesbian a few times. No.
- The little sparkley butterfly clip that is holding up my rather awkwardly growing out bangs.
- My black messenger bag. Which I got from Le Chateau. The only place I shopped. Possible contents include: sparkly nail-polish, sparkly lip-gloss, iridescent eye-shadow, green-tea scented hand lotion, American Vogue, GO bus tickets, a script (from the school musical of course), pens, a small notebook, and some kind of pretentious, hardcover novel from the library (or, let’s be honest here, possibly some Anne Rice if I felt like slumming).
- My thrift-store, mens, stretchy polyester shirt. I probably underestimated the size of the collar here.
- The size of my shoes. Large. I liked to balance the width of my pants (wide) with the size of my shoes (clunky).
- My glasses. They were bright-blue, metal cats-eyes. Totally hot.
- Lavender. Mauve. Whatever you want to call pale, vomity purple. I loved it then. I can’t stand it now. Go figure.
- I ate, pretty much like a pig - but I was hella’ skinny. I can not believe how skinny I was. Ten pounds away from Nicole Ritchie skinny. It shocks me to look back in pictures. That twenty (or thirty, or forty) pound college rule is totally for real guys. *Sigh.* I want my old metabolism back.
These are some of the things I shall be planting over the next couple weeks (May 9th is the no-frost date around here, and there are no more zero degrees celsius lows on the weather report). I’m worried we won’t have enough space for everything.
There’s been a little cold snap here, so my gardening has been temporarily postponed up until… Well, today actually - and today I have to go get allergy tests, so boo. No gardening yet. Soon though.
For the record there is:
- rainbow swiss chard
- purple basil
- mixed, multi coloured heirloom tomatoes
- golden pear mini-tomatoes
- scarlet red carrots
- sugar snap peas
- spaghetti squash
- yellow courgettes
- icebox watermelon
- poppies
As well as the chocolate mint, yellow strawberries, thyme, oregano, and sage I already have going.
These are my little heirloom tomato sprouts. I am very proud of them. Fingers crossed that they’ll get big and strong in time for Victoria day (also known as official tomato planting day).
Yesterday I made french onion soup using organic onions from the food box and fresh thyme and sage from the garden. It was pretty wonderful.