Random Saturday to the Rescue

* I just posted an amazing Lavender Pound Cake recipe on my foodie blog here. I know using lavender in anything outside of the shower or a closet sachet is a bit out there for many of us, but fresh lavender has a very different scent than the dried blossoms. It's almost citrusy. This cake is SO good I had to give half away for fear I'd gorge myself with it over the weekend.

* If anyone can tell me why I saved "327 Holliston St" in my phone I would much appreciate it. Where does this address take me? What city is it in? I gotta tell you, Googlemaps was no help.

* This is the scariest place I've been all week:

* My mind has gone completely blank. A great idea popped into my head while I was cruising Googlemaps and now I've completely forgotten it. Frak!

* Said in a bar last week: "I have an active sex life in other people's minds".

* If someone can explain this to me (and doesn't make me vomit in the process), I'll give you a dollar:
* Word of the day Jennie has been promoted to another office, so now I have to come up with witty random words all on my own. Tear. Today's word is: Morose.

* Can I get this on a poster?

* Thanks to thedailywh.at.com I am now obsessed with this, and this, and these.

*NSFW: Marilyn Manson's mock-trailer for "Phantasmagoria: The Visions of Lewis Carroll". This film is not yet in production (from what I hear, it's still looking for funding), but man, does it look interesting. At the very least you know Manson will show you something visually interesting and probably deeply disturbing. Sign me up!
*

Saturday Free for All!

* I got nothing today, but felt bad about not posting so much this week. I'm getting sick again and I totally blame AMC theatres and "Robin Hood". I felt fine until I went to the advanced screening, now I'm coughing again and feel like I have a fever even though I don't. It makes it so much worse that I'm stuck, alone, at work. I just want to go to sleep. But instead, I have 4.5 hours left of work before I go to the grocery to get more cold medicine and figure out what I'm making for WWQTW on Monday. (I can't wait to tell you all about it. We are watching what may arguably be my favorite movie- no pressure).

* I think the office is haunted. I keep hearing the back door open and someone typing upstairs, but there's no one there. It's freaking me out! Be gone demon! Step into the light children, all are welcome!

* Watch out pro-choice'ers: A pro-lifer by the name of Marjorie Dannenfelser is clambering to oust Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada). She founded and heads the Susan B. Anthony List which is hoping to put representatives in Congress who are pro-life and anti-choice concerning abortions. Read more about her here. (Special thanks to Femme Writes for the heads up).

* So, I'm trying to get ready for work this morning (not an easy task), and I keep seeing movement outside in my courtyard. I think nothing of it, but there's an accompanying noise that startles my cat. I peek outside and find a DirecTV guy waking away at my tree and messing with my dish. Unfortunately, I was running late for work so I just bolted out the door without speaking to him. Who called him? Was he supposed to fix my neighbors dish and got mine instead/as well? I'll tell you, if my TV starts working I will continue to pay the ridiculous bill I get for basic cable at least 1 more month. Otherwise, I'm going to kick them in the shins and demand restitution. I understand that if there's severe weather my dish might stop working, but what's the excuse for now signal yesterday when there was only a light drizzle? Or for the past week?

* Do you watch "The Vampire Diaries"? Did you watch the season finale? WHAT THE FUCK!!!!! This is why this show is one of the best things on TV (Ian Somerhalder isn't too bad himself). Put it in your queue ASAP. It's what "Twilight" could have been- sexy, mysterious, dangerous, sexy.

* If the fire alarm at work doesn't stop going off, I'm going to stab myself or it. Whichever seems easier at the time.

* My Vegan Chocolate Chip recipe is posted on Veggie Sometimes. Check it out, they're delicious!

* Today's word of the day is: disappointed. See also: ill

Meat Free Tuesday- Success! And, Why TV and Movies Are Pissing Me Off.

So, Monday I failed at my first ever Meatless Monday, but I redeemed myself with a Meatfree Tuesday. A big shout out to genius pending for the best comment I think I've ever received on a post. Not only did it include profanity, but I felt it was a big high five to Texas. Or, at least that's what I'm telling myself.

Tuesday I planned the whole thing out, kinda, and more importantly remembered what I was supposed to do that day. Breakfast was whole grain toast with honey. Lunch was a salad with my "world-famous" shallot dressing. Dinner was a lot more fun to come up with as I didn't know I was going to do this when I went to the grocery last week, so my choices were a bit slim. I knew I as going to saute the last of my fresh green beans in a little olive oil and garlic, but other than that- no clue.


My favorite dish when I go out for tapas, Spanish tapas that is, is potatoes in a piquant sauce. Basically, potatoes in a spicy tomato sauce, often served with crème fraiche, sour cream, or an herb aioli on top. Delish! So, I decided to make my version of this dish. It was Delicious and spicy and satisfying. So good!!

This just came on my radar and I wanted to share it with you. I promise to never become too crunchy (I am not a hippie), but if you are like minded I thought you should know. The USDA is deliberating over whether or not to allow GMO (a genetically modified organism) in certified organic produce (the current case is specific to alfalfa). Their stance is that consumers don't care if produce is genetically altered, even those certified organic. I'm pretty sure altered organic produce is an oxymoron as organic products is supposed to be free from pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, or genetically altered. If it has any of these traits, it's not organic. Period. To allow them to alter one foodstuff would open the door to genetic tampering in all organic produce. If you like to eat organic, to ensure that what you are eating is the closest to growing it in your own backyard, then join me in sending a letter to the USDA saying we DO have a voice and it should be heard. You can find more information, as well as a virtual letter to send, at True Food Now . The Center for Food Safety works to "protect human health and the environment by curbing the proliferation of harmful food production technologies and by promoting organic and other forms of sustainable agriculture". Basically, they want you to have a choice in what you buy and give ways to support local and organic production, end factory farming, and support the environment in the US.

Okay, I'm going to get off my soap box. And now for something completely different:

An Open Letter to Writer's of TV and Film: Hey guys, just want to let you know I appreciate all you do. However, I've got a bone to pick with you- research. I know you have researchers looking into the history, reality of locations, time periods, etc; yet you seem to throw caution to the wind on a regular basis. Example Case #1: Have you ever been to New York in winter? I have, several times. Never have I seen someone walking down the street in a lightweight jacket, open, with no scarf. It's quite the opposite- heavy parkas, scarves, hats, gloves, boots. The craziest thing I saw was a woman without a hat in 20 degree weather. I'm sure there are "crazies" out there who dress likes it's perpetually 75 (I know we have them in Texas), but they are few and far between. Would it really ruin your shot if your actor zipped up their coat? Wore a kicky hat? Gloves? I highly doubt it.

I'd also like to address your feelings about recorded history and artifacts. What the French? Would "Public Enemies" be any less effective if you showed that Dillinger was outlived by the majority of his gang instead of them all dying before him? No, and on a positive note the movie probably would have been shorter and viewers would learn something (which I thought was the point of a biopic). Furthermore, you were a stickler to detail and historical accuracy in the actual death of John Dillenger, so now I'm even more confused.

Last night I was watching disc 2 of "Hex", a BBC drama about a young witch who's best friend's a ghost and is impregnated by a fallen angel (aka Awesome). I understand you're already stretching belief with the fantasy theme, but did you need to misrepresent Egyptian hieroglyphics as well? They're read top to bottom, left to right. Not side to side. Clearly someone must have done some research to find the symbols used (don't get me started there); did they not also discover how they were written? And, in what universe is an Egyptian named Hera? Probably not this one. You made me sad BBC. So very sad.

In closing, reality is more interesting than fantasy. If you're going to change the past, have the courtesy of doing it in a big bold way a la "Inglourious Basterds". Don't do it half-assed.

We wonder why the youth of today are ignorant of history and truth- Just look to TV and movies, the main source of their education. I know that John Stewart is a comedian with hilarious views purposefully skewed to the right for laughs. I also know "The Daily Show" is not a source for real news anymore than "The Onion" or "Weekend Update" on "SNL" is. They're entertainment shows. Hopefully, they cause the viewer to research it's topics more. I don't even care if you're using wikipedia as long as you're trying to better yourself and your education. Come on writers- why so lazy?

Moooo-ve Over Monday!

So I've started writing this post much earlier than usual in an attempt to actually get it out (especially since I promised it to you yesterday). The original plan was to write something rough last night and polish it out today, but let's just say I got distracted (and by distracted I mean I drank a bottle of wine at my friend's house while watching Project Runway and helping her write her performance review- super fun but unproductive).

Work has been really slow lately, so I've been cruising the interwebs (not in a dirty way!) and wasting as much time as possible; another reason there is no excuse to not post something and on time! I was reading my mail and got excited to see I had a message from GOOP. I'm relatively certain I've expounded on the evil joy that is Gwenyth Paltrow's weekly lifestyle newsletter but couldn't find the tag for it (don't worry, there will still be plenty of links in this post). Long story short/in summary: She publishes GOOP weekly and topics range from travel to wellness to food to whatever. The food ones are my favorite (big surprise), though she's had great gift ideas for any (ANY) budget and fun tidbits about foreign locals I have yet to visit.

This weeks newsletter was all about vegetarian dishes.

[side note: While Paltrow has previously dabbled in vegetarian and macrobiotic eating, she now eats meat. Check out her amazing and simple roast chicken recipe here .]

Immediately I forwarded a copy to my favorite Veggie, then went back to read what I had actually sent. Ms. Paltrow has joined the McCarthy's (that would be Stella and father/Beatle Paul) in their vegetarian mission: Meat Free Monday. From their mission statement:

"Meat Free Monday is an environmental campaign to raise awareness of the climate-changing impact of meat production and consumption. Many people are unaware that livestock production is responsible for 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions – that’s more than the entire transport sector..."

Basically, by standing up and pledging to "go meatless" at least once a week, they hope to reduce the need for more grazing land, reduce greenhouse emissions, and promote healthy living. As many of you know, eating organic and as locally as possible (depending on my level of laziness) is very important to me. It seems as if this topic comes up every time I talk to my sister. As a future veterinarian (and current pescatarian), she has an insight into the production and health of meat in this country that I find invaluable and educational. The illogical system behind the slaughter of animals (don't even get me started) coupled with the "waste" of much of the worlds grain to feed animals but not people got me excited about participating in this mission.

Without planning it, or even really noticing, I tend to have at least one vegetarian meal a week. It couldn't be simpler to expand that thought to the whole day. Of course, I couldn't give up eating meat all together- I'm a firm believer in the food chain and the delicious power of BBQ; not to mention my hatred of many of the world's vegetables- but I do want to eat better and smarter. The resources available to us with delicious and nutritious vegetarian dishes is better than ever before. I hope you will check out the websites to learn more and pledge to do your part.

Meat Free Monday (UK)

Meatless Monday (USA)

Food Network- Conscious Cooking

I made this amazing macaroni and cheese dish the other day that I was going to share with you, but I forgot to download the pictures (and I'm pretty sure they didn't come out well either). So, that will have to wait. Instead, I'm giving you a recipe I saw recently that made my mouth water and begin the countdown to payday when I can make them. A big thanks to Giada De Laurentiis for bringing easy yet elegant food to my table. I can't wait to make these savory Goat Cheese w/Sun-dried Tomato Profiteroles . (Plus, I just like saying "profiterole"- pre-fit-e-rol)

Saturday's are for Random Links, nicht wahr?

* Did you hear about the controversy over the Sports Illustrated cover featuring Lindsey Vonn ? Uh... Really people? She's a skier, skiing down a mountain in her uniform. Should she be in a parka? Perhaps some sort of burlap number? Come on! It's really amazing that given who could have been on the cover, they chose a woman. This should be a cheer for woman's rights, not a moment to get your panties in a twist. Calm down and get over yourselves.

* Our word of the day is brought to us by guest commentator Mere: Blunderbuss. (I thought she'd been watching a "Pawn Star's" marathon- seriously check it out- but she actually heard it in an animal dental lecture. I've got to know how that came up)

* An Open Letter to the Contributors of Allrecipes.com : Your recipes for guacamole were brought to my attention from the lovely Jen, who could not stop laughing. How do you pick what gets put on the site? How can most of your guac recipes not contain cilantro? When is taco sauce an appropriate ingredient to guac? What, no tomatoes? or chili's? or lime? I have lost all respect for you Allrecipes, not that there was much left. In the immortal words of shine : "We're breaking up!"

* Another hilarious tidbit I learnt from yahoo this week, 80's cheese band Men at Work were sued for plagiarism and lost. Apparently, their hit "Down Under" bares a striking resemblance to the "Kookaburra " song we're all familiar with. I don't hear it, or at least not in a "stolen" kind of way, but what do I know. It's simply hilarious that it took 30 years for someone to put this together and now Men at Work are screwed. hee hee.

* If I hear one more movie trailer say something like, "they're greatest strength will be each other" or "they had nothing until they had each other", or "their only ally was each other"; I think I'm going to puke. I'm looking at you "Percy Jackson & The Olympians"!

* Have you been watching "The Vampire Diaries"? What's that you say? It looks retarded and designed for 13-year-old girls? Well, some of that may be true, however you would be mistaken as a whole. TVD (as I will now refer to it) is the perfect blend between bland "Twilight" and erotic "True Blood". There's a story- Boy and girl fall in love, girl finds out boy is Vampire, girl meets boyfriend's evil vamp brother, girl discovers she's a dead ringer for the twisted vamp that sired them. Oh yea! It is also super funny and smart. For example, here's my favorite line from this weeks episode: "If I see something I haven't seen before, I'll throw a dollar at it." Snap!!

* On the "this may be offensive" front- My sis and I were talking earlier this week and the topic of Haiti came up. No, I'm not going where you think I am. Hang tight. So, she asked if I'd heard about the kidnapped Haitian children. Apparently, a bunch of Flander's-style Christians tried to smuggle a group of Haitian orphans out of the country. Sounds nice, right? Unfortunately, many of the kids weren't orphans at all, their parents were simply in hospital. Oh my. Well, I found this hilarious! My sister just kept saying, "I have parent's! I have a mommy!" in a high pitched voice. Somehow this lead to the creation of the greatest band name in history: Smuggling Haitian Orphans (kinda like, Hey That's My Bike from "Reality Bites"). Oh we thought we were so funny! Until Thursday when she sent me the name of their opening act: Aborted Sudden Death. Oh no... We're going to hell. Save me a seat if you get there before me!

* For whatever reason I've been doing this:

Or this:

All day. At least 3 times already!! So, if there were a movement of the day, it would be the comedic thrust.

Golden Globes, You Crack Me Up, or What I Did Last Night

Last night was the 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards. You know how excited I've been getting and last night did not disappoint! I got together with a bunch of ladies, including shine and gofahne , to watch the show, stuff our faces, and drink ourselves silly. The spread was definitely cheese heavy (never a complaint mind you). I made two kinds of crostini- one with pepper goat cheese, tomato, and arugula; the other with regular goat cheese, Provencal turkey, arugula, and a honey balsamic vinaigrette. They were scrumptious if I may say so myself. I wish I could take soul credit for their creation, but that really goes here and here .

How did my predictions go? Ok, I'd say- 13 out of 25. My highlights:

* Ricky Gervais. Most of the blogs and entertainment sites slammed him, but we thought he was funny. I loved that he shilled his own DVD's, kept drinking beer from the podium (which lead to his best joke/introduction: "I enjoy a drink as much as the next guy... unless the next guy is Mel Gibson"), and shameless lambaste of any and every celebrity. That being said, did the Globes benefit from having a host this year? I don't think so.

* Robert Downey Jr's "all me" acceptance speech. I've always wanted someone to get up there, thank no one but themselves, and get off the stage. We got that, kinda, with Downey's funny speech. A definite YouTube moment.

* Mo'nique's speech. Not the god part (though someone did point out she was the only one who thanked god. Finally!), but the part at the end about speaking out about abuse and violence. "It's now time to tell, and it's okay". A lovely sentiment for anyone out there dealing with similar situations as in the movie "Precious".

* "The Hangover" wins best comedy. It never occurred to me to pick it- I thought there was no way in hell a raucous "frat-boy" movie would win. Wow! What a game changer. This opens the door for other "R" rated comedies to be recognized for the entertainment they provide.

* Can someone please shut James Cameron up? I'm still pissed he won Best Director (shouldn't he have just gotten a science & technology award? We're really praising the tech, the 3D, not his directing style. This should have gone to Tarrantino or Bigelow (it's about time a woman won, and if any were more poised to do so, it's her). Also, GET A HAIRCUT, HIPPIE! I know you've got the money to head to Supercuts. You look ridiculous.

* Outfits- i.e. The Horror. I was surprised at how few train wrecks there were this year. Little misses here and there (I'm not even going to talk about Cher and Christina Aguilara's "clothes").

* Martin Scorsese's Acceptance Speech. All the haters need to quiet down! I loved his speech. It's nice to hear a little reverence for the past, especially the man for which the award was named (Cecil B. DeMille). Surely there are hundred's of people out there for whom a history lesson is needed. I know several of the people I watched with learned something from the speech. For those in the know, what do you expect from him? He is film. This would be like asking Quentin Tarrantino to not reference movies when he speaks. Impossible!

* On the TV front, I couldn't believe "Glee" won, though I'm also not surprised. Best actor/actress drama was also a surprise. Julianna Margulies really deserved some recognition, who would have thought she'd get it with fellow nominees like Glenn Close, Anna Paquin, and Kyra Sedgwick? Michael C. Hall finally won for "Dexter"- it seemed like a lost cause and another surprise!

The best part, of course, was talking with friends about movies and TV- a dream come true for me! I'm not sure how it was suggested, but we are now starting a movie club- all the films you MUST see (the real classics, the ones that influenced filmmakers and entertainment of today, the ones most referenced, etc). I'm going to get started on my list. I anticipate it taking longer than expected. Suggestions?