Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Adventures in Rabbit Food: Potato-Swiss Chard Toss

Hello, Dear Readers!  Happy Wednesday!  Today I am going to regale you with a a delicious and shockingly simple recipe for an awesome summer salad that would be great for your cookouts!

Last fall I made the decision to become a strict ovo-lacto vegetarian (no meat or fish, but dairy and eggs are okay, preferably if they are cruelty-free and organic).  I am also trying this summer to cook/prepare more food from scratch--I even purchased a Ms. Bento to put my home-cooked lunches in (plus, I love compartments and when my food doesn't touch!).  My new Vegetarian Times Fast & Easy cookbook is an awesome source for fast & easy recipes, and some of them are even vegan!  (Cooking vegan is actually lots easier because you don't have to fuss with milk or eggs or cheese!)

So last night I made an awesome Potato-Swiss Chard Toss, which is basically a super-easy awesome potato salad.  And it's freaking! delicious! And vegan!

So here's what you'll need:
-3/4 lb to 1 lb fingerling potatoes (If you like potatoes more, I would say go with 1 lb)
-At least 1 lb swiss chard (You are going to sautee this and it gets really tiny so if you like more greens, add another 1/2 lb)
-2 cloves garlic
-1 tbsp olive oil
-1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
-salt and pepper to taste

Here's the prep work you should do before you cook: (I find it annoying that they just throw this in with the ingredient list...wrongola! This is part of the cooking bit! Blergh!)
-Wash the potatoes and cut them into bite-sized pieces.
-Wash the swiss chard (well!) and de-stem them and then cut/tear them into small strips. If you are a fast worker, you might be able to do this while the potatoes are cooking.
-De-shell the garlic (or whatever it is you do to get that outer peely bit off) and mince it.

Okay!  Time to cook!

-Put the potatoes in a cooking pot and cover them with water.  Add salt if you want.
-Put the potatoes to boil, and then once they boil, reduce heat to low and cook another 5-7 minutes or until they are soft. Drain and set aside.
-In a big skillet over medium heat, heat up the olive oil.
-Cook the garlic for about 30 seconds, making sure to keep stirring the garlic so it won't burn.
-Add the swiss chard and potatoes and cover.  Cook for about 5 minutes (or until the chard is fully wilted), stirring occasionally.
-Remove from heat and put in your serving bowl.  Add the balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.

The recipe says serve warm, but I had it cold today for lunch and it tasted great!  And that's it!  It's soooo easy!  The prep work and actual cook time are what takes up the most time, and you don't have to hover over the stove every second.  Oh, and it makes enough salad-sized portions for four hungry eaters.  Yay, potatoes!

PS. You might get the added bonus of pink potatoes if your swiss chard stems/veins are pink. What a weird twist to this fun salad!

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Taking You to Film School: The Fall and XXY

So you probably know I'm a pretty avid film-watcher.  I have theories about why this is (for a later post), but thanks to NetFlix, I can watch five or six new films a week.  I'll try my best to keep the blog updated with reviews and recommendations, especially with films I really liked.  Since this is my first film post (cleverly titled, don't you think?), I'll review a film I watched this past weekend and one I just watched this evening.

The Fall (2006, directed by Tarsem Singh)
Fellow cinephiles might recognize the name of this unique visionary director, and if it doesn't ring a bell, the opening title card certainly will--Singh directed 2000's The Cell and the same font is revisited for the title card of The Fall.  Like The Cell, The Fall is a film glowing with color and visual panache, yet freshly does not rely on CGI for its stunning visuals.  But that's perhaps where the similarities end in these two stories--The Cell is a thriller/crime drama not superbly acted by Jennifer Lopez and Vincent D'Onofrio while the cast of The Fall supports two parallel narratives with both strength and subtlety.

Set in 1920s Hollywood, a stunt actor (played with grace and intensity by one of my not-so-secret crushes Lee Pace) who suffers a paralyzing fall befriends a little Romanian girl (the adorable, honest Catinca Untaru) with a broken arm while both convalesce in hospital.  To draw her in, he begins to tell her an adventure story that enthralls both the little girl and the viewer--but he has an ulterior, darker motive than story time.  While the yarn he spins binds the two of them together, it ultimately could be an ending for both of them.

Like Pan's Labyrinth, this is a story not for children.  It is, at times, dark, twisted, fearsome, and violent.  But it is a beautiful tale all the same.  Singh's eye for visualization and perfecting the image is impeccable and traveled the world to accomplish this film (it was shot in South Africa, Nepal, India, and Cambodia, among other places).  The story is strong and strange at the same time, with wonderful twists and character tangents.  The way we see the world--through the eyes of the little girl--makes one long for the brightness of the childhood imagination.  Many of the actors play double roles as patients or caretakers in the hospital/"real world" and as characters in the adventure story and do so with gusto.

This is a film of wonder, trust, sadness, and, above all, the power of storytelling.  9/10


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XXY (2007, directed by Lucia Puenzo)
XXY is, on the surface, the story of a fifteen year old intersex teenager (Alex, played by Ines Efron) living as a girl with her parents at the crossroads of making a decision about how she will live her life--as a woman or as a man, knowing either decision will require much change in their lives.  However, it's also a film about the pressure young people undergo as they make decisions about which direction their lives will take.

It's clear that Alex isn't happy in her current situation, but she isn't unhappy either--she's struggling more against growing up than she is against choosing a biological sex.  Her parents ache to understand how she's feeling while trying desperately to guide her into a "normal" adulthood.  It's an all-too-familiar scenario for so many teenagers:  parents who tell their children they just want what's best for them, but forcing them to make decisions about their future when so much is unclear, unknown.

XXY is set on the coast of Argentina, and the film's coloring is marine and muted, allowing character and story to shine through rather than scenery.  Still, it's an understated, quietly elegant film with a few stunning moments that stand out against the hush of the waves in the background.

XXY is a thoughtful, sensitive coming-of-age film that explores the murkiness of the teenage experience in an interesting light. 7/10


This is the first post.

A few months ago, I turned 29.  Not really a big deal in the course of my life, and certainly not a big deal to the rest of the world, but since then I've definitely taken a bit of an account of what I'd like more of in my life as I pedal my cruiser towards 30.  One of those things is writing again with some regularity, and I think a blog (that, hopefully, people are reading) will keep me accountable to that.

Most of you reading this probably already know me a little, so I'll spare you the boring details.  This blog will contain updates on everything from what I'm currently knitting to recipes I've tried to reviews of books I've read and movies I've seen to thoughts on current events, culture, theology, history, or stories of Things That Actually Happened to Me.

And you, Dear Reader, can help shape this blog if you'd like!  Feel free to suggest that you'd like to see or hear more (or less!) of something and I'll try my best to create updates accordingly.

As a First Post Push for Good Karma, here's a list of some awesome daily blogs which I love:
The Lady Pastor:  This is my awesome friend Emily's blog.  She is a pastor with an eye for design and an appreciation for the simple things that can so wonderfully enhance our lives.
Not a Crazy Vegan:  Rachel's hilarious food blog proves that she is not crazy in her attempts to be vegan.  I love her cooking tips and the vegan recipes she tries are absolutely mouth-watering!
Dooce.com:  Because it's Dooce.com.  I mean, have you ever cried whilst reading the interwebs?  Have you? Have you??
Hyde Park Cats:  The blog for the organization for which I foster.  They do amazing work and the pictures of the kittehs on the website are teeth-achingly adorable.

And you can follow me on Twitter as well; I'm @je_gigote (if you figure out what that means, you'll know how perfectly it describes me).

Let me hear from you and we'll party in the blogosphere til the break of dawn!  (Ha ha, inadvertent Twilight reference!) I'm a dork.