polenta!

I made some spoon bread a few weeks ago, and it was scrumptious. Soon afterward, I was thinking of other ways that I could use up the cornmeal I bought for it, and my brain followed that natural conclusion to Polenta. Polenta is divine. You can cook it tons of ways: fried, baked, gloppy- all delicious. My mother used to bake it in the oven for a bit with tomato sauce. So good!

So, I went to my favorite food website, Epicurious.com, and found me this little gem from the May 2008 issue of Bon Apetit.

It came out SO WELL. I am enjoying another bowl for breakfast as we speak. I played with the original recipe by adding cheese and leaving out a tablespoon of butter [I forgot it!].

Creamy [cheesy] corn-studded polenta

3 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp salt
1 cup polenta (coarse cornmeal)
3 cups corn kernels [I used frozen that I thawed for a few hours, but they said fresh from 3 ears, which would be good in the summer]
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese [because what isn't improved by a mountain of cheese?]

Bring broth, cream, and salt to boil in medium saucepan. Gradually whisk in polenta; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 10 minutes, stirring often. Add corn and cheese; increase heat and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook until polenta is soft, thick, and creamy, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

I think one could safely add hot sauce, or perhaps a dash of Old Bay. The next time I make it, I'm going to go further with the cheese by adding some parmesan and remembering the butter.

Serve it with chicken! Or steak! Or a mound of veggies! But be warned - it's delicious all on its own, so be prepared to forget whatever else you planned to accompany it.

really, south africa?

You're really denying a visa to the Dalai Lama? For a peace conference?

Really?

*headdesk*

lalala party times

Tried to throw a rager for twenty on saturday, which then turned into an intimate dinner party for five. Was very good all the same - Dogfish has started putting out their springy hoppy beers, and I must say that I indulged in a few. A fantastic and delightful evening.

Then, on Sunday, once I overcame the inevitable hangover, I went over to Leah and Marc's and we started brewin'! We made a batch of mead and some sorrel wine, which should be FANTASTIC in a few months. Sorrel is a hibiscus that is very popular in the carribbean for drinks. We boiled water, sugar, those dried flowers and some cinnamon and cloves, and it smelled like chrismas! Very deep purple, too. Can't wait!

I'm over my dissappointment with Watchmen. It's cool, it's hollywood. I'll just pick and choose the imagery I enjoyed, and it will help fuel my future re-readings of the book.

lalala lovely lovely weekend! How were yours? Report!

so, I'll whine at length about something else - **Watchmen spoilers.**

So. So. The Watchmen is my favorite graphic novel, okay? Hands-down, ultimately number one. So.

So, listen. It was a good movie, okay. I cannot deny that. The action was FANTASTIC. The acting wasn't half-bad. The love and sorrow and fear and all those delicious gritty things that made me love the books so much were pretty well executed. It was dark and wonderful - Rorschach and The Comedian especially were so perfect. The opening credits drove me to tears of joy and relief within the first twenty seconds. I am a very visual person, so by and large, I LOVE adaptations.

But, with Watchmen, I was left wanting.

I think it comes down to this: I must agree with my pal, Penny, when I say that I wish that they hadn't cut out the humanity. I use that word carefully, because the book spent so much time down in the streets with the regular folks. The Bernies, especially. Something tells me that they shot more than what made it into the film as the make-up and casting for the Bernies were great. For the two seconds of screen-time they got.

See, Alan Moore tells a hell of a story. He is very good at sucking you into the minutae of human emotions, and that, my friends, is what I missed most.

In print, we saw Josephine's [one of my favorites] conflicting feelings about her sexuality. And Dr Long's slow, painful withdrawal from reality during the course of his treatment of Rorschach. I missed the New Frontiersman, even. It just didn't feel right to not cut to the newsstand every once and a while, check in with the fellas.

And even with the backstory of our Heroes, I felt they came up short.

But still, despite all that, I was enjoying myself. Right up until the end. [I'm not going to actually discuss the ending, because I don't want someone to not see it because I gave it away.]

I cannot shake my dissappointment with how they chose to end it. It brought down my whole enjoyment. I could see it coming, creeping up on me from the corners. "No way," I told myself, "they can't be doing what I think they're doing..."

And they did. They freaking did. I was spitting TACKS the whole way home. My father, who did not read the book, was doing his best to console me. He made some good points - some of which I mentioned above with regard to the action and such.

But, I was just so bitterly dissappointed. And I know I'm biased. But I feel like they changed something huge and important that didn't need to be changed. They used so much CGI throughout the movie, how hard would it have been to keep to the story-line?

And the worst part is - I can sort of see the reasoning. AND I DON'T WANT TO. I am a stubborn person by nature, so when I have an idea in my head, god forbid it doesn't work out. So. This may be more a meditation on my own inability to let go, rather than the actual short-comings of the movie.

Or something.

If anyone wants to go see it again, though, I'm totally down. I need to form a really solid, rounded opinion, you know?

Yeah, that's the ticket.

world-weary

So, here I am worried about North Korea, when people are setting their grandmothers on fire in my own city.

What the hell is wrong with people? I'm too young to be this disillusioned. At twenty-three, the world should be my oyster, and I should have a bright future.


blah blah blah. Just give me a few hours, I'll be back on top. <3

crafts!

Went to the American Craft Council Show today with Rosemary. IT WAS SO COMPLETELY AWESOME YOU HAVE NO IDEA. So much stuff! So much AMAZING STUFF. I ended up buying some wooden chopsticks and a matching little bitty salt spoon because I have no salt shaker [Ahem, Dad.] and generally end up filling a shot glass and putting it in the middle of the table at dinner parties. Now I'll have a SPOON, too!

Good Times.

I wish that I was a millionaire so that I could have bought some of the delightful things we saw. Gorgeous textiles!! I want all the scarves ever.

Also, I don't know if anyone has noticed, but Ralphie from A Christmas Story is in Iron Man. He's one of the scientists working for Obidiah to make the miniature Arc Reactor.

Don't believe me? Check this shit out: Peter Billingsley.

I've now watched Iron Man three times in two days. I think it's time to send it back to Netflix. I LOVE YOU, ROBERT DOWNEY JR. If you need a baby, I am your girl. I will birth them for you like a champ.

The End.

<3