Hot Like Ebola!!!: October 2006

From Anastasia:

IF YOUR LIFE WAS A MOVIE, WHAT WOULD YOUR SOUNDTRACK BE?

So, here's how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool..

Opening Credits:
I'm alright, Jars of Clay ("It was the fear of God that led me to you, and it's the fear of you that takes getting used to")

Waking Up:
Consume Me, DC talk ("lovely dreaming, I immerse myself in you")

First Day At School:
Friend is a Four Letter Word, Cake (Uh-Oh)

Falling In Love:
Dumb Submarine, Geggy Tah ("If this is the age of communication, why do I feel lost in isolation?")

Breaking Up:
Only Wanna Be With You, Hootie and the Blowfish

Prom:
Some Kind of Zombie, Audio Adrenialine (This one cracked me up!)

Life's OK:
She Don't Use Jelly, Ben Folds Five

Mental Breakdown:
Palm of Your Hand, Cake (Nice!)

Driving:
Shall We Join the Ladies?, Michael Feinstein

Flashback:
The Guitar Man, Cake

Getting Back Together:
Wheels, Cake (Oh, no!)

Wedding:
Let us Love and Sing and Wonder, Jars of Clay

Birth of Child:
Extra Savoir Faire, They Might Be Giants

Final Battle:
Jealousy, James Iha

Death Scene:
Mr. Jones, Counting Crows

Funeral Song:
Never Bow Down, Third Day

End Credits:
Divorce, Burlap to Cashmere ("Now I have seen the better days, and I am through."

:: submitted by Jenevieve, 10:17 AM | link |

24 October 2006

Study Update

2 pathogens detected

I studied for four and a half very productive hours today. And I let myself go to a coffee shop for 2 of those hours as a treat, which was great!

As a bonus, my sparklingly wonderful husband is making dinner tonight! Yippee!

:: submitted by Jenevieve, 7:13 PM | link |

Oh where, oh where has my free time gone...?

2 pathogens detected

I learned this week that I will have 15 exams in December. Fifteen. So, in an act of industriousness that can only be described as "panic", I have organized every minute of my schedule from 9 am to 8 pm, Monday through Saturday, from now until December 8th.

Holy moly.

Get used to not seeing very many posts from me. I only have 2 hours a day of free time, and those are both during meals.

:: submitted by Jenevieve, 12:43 PM | link |

14 October 2006

Spicy Pumpkin Curry Soup

5 pathogens detected

I typed this out for our neighbors, and thought it would go well with the other recipe here. It is SO GOOD. I want to make it, but pumpkin is £1.30 a can here, and we don't have a blender or food processor to puree the pumpkin ourself.

4 tablespoons butter
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3-4 teaspoons curry powder
Cayenne to taste (use less if you want it less spicy)
3 (15 oz) cans 100 percent pumpkin or 6 cups of chopped roasted pumpkin
5 cups of chicken broth (or vegetable broth for you veggies out there)
1 1/2 cups of milk
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon salt

1 Melt butter in a 4-quart saucepan over mediium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add spices and stir for a minute more.

2 Add pumpkin and 5 cups of chicken broth; blend well. Bring to a boil and reduce heat, simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.

3 Transfer soup, in batches, to a blender or food processor. Cover tightly and blend until smooth. Return soup to saucepan.

4 With the soup on low heat, add brown sugar and mix. Slowly add milk while stirring to incorporate. Add cream. Adjust seasonings to taste. If a little too spicy, add more cream to cool it down. Add a teaspoon of salt.

***Notes:
1. All of the times I have made this, I have halved the recipe. It always works great.
2. The way we make it (about 1 to 2 tsp cayenne) is pretty fabulously spicy. The original recipe called for about 1/4 tsp cayenne, so move as the spirit leads you on that account.
3. I have made it with canned pumpkin and roasted pumpkin. It did taste better with the fresh off the vine roasted pumpkin, but not enough better to be worth the effort of cutting up a pumpkin just for that.
4. However, if you do use fresh pumpkin, the toasted seeds make an excellent garnish. So does a little cream.

:: submitted by Jenevieve, 12:15 PM | link |

10 October 2006

Roasted Tomato Pie

1 pathogens detected

To the anonymous commenter who posted a request for this, here you go. May you enjoy it as much as Matt and Seth and everyone else does!

Roasted Tomato Pie
Ingredients:
2.5-3 lbs ripe tomatoes
olive oil
salt and pepper

1.5-2 cups grated sharp white cheddar or gruyere
10 fresh basil leaves, sliced into chiffonade
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 cup grated parmesan

1/2 recipe pie crust or 1 frozen 9 inch round (I use a butter crust, but you can use any)

1. Preheat oven to 350 defrees F.
2. Line a baking sheet with olive-oiled aluminum foil. Cut tomatoes into 1/2 inch thich slices, place on sheet, and brush with more olive oil. Salt and pepper. Roast 1 hour or until slightly dehydrated and crinkly but not dry.

3. Blind bake pie crust as directed. While crust is warm, sprinkle with 1/2 cup grated cheddar or gruyere.

4. Turn Oven to 400 degrees F.
5. Layer 1/2 of the tomatoes, 1/2 of the basil and thyme, remaining tomatoes, and remaining
basil and thyme.
6. Combine oregano, parmesan, mayo, and 1/4 tsp pepper in a small bowl ans spoon on top of tomato/basil layer. Top with remianing 1/2 cup grated cheddar or gruyere.

7. Bake 20-30 minutes or until cheese is light brown.

Serve slightly warm.

:: submitted by Jenevieve, 10:14 PM | link |

03 October 2006

I Am Humble

3 pathogens detected

Matt and I went with Bianca and Andrew this summer to a cool vegan raw-foods restaurant. There, the menu was disorientingly different. Each item was called "I Am ___", with the blank filled differently depending on the food. for example, the special item of the day was "I Am Celebrating", while the nachos were "I Am Honoring". One would order by saying "I Am Strong" or whatever, and the server would give you your food by saying "You are Wholehearted."

It was kind of cool.

Anyway, in the spirit of humility I admit that I have no good blog post for you. However, worry not because I have a couple of great posts you should check out:

To start off, Klee of The Reluctant Prophet has a really good post on weight issues, with which I strongly resonate. Especially here in Scotland, when every food is deep fried and/or coated in sugar.

Moving along, Twisty from I Blame The Patriarchy has a million good posts, with not all of which I agree. But this one on breast cancer and consumerism was very compelling.
In other news, Matt and I had a long talk tonight about feminism, most of which felt like an attack on me and my thoughts on sexism and advertising. I know this was not intentional, but I still felt that way, probably because I am so hypocritical in my views. I am trying to understand what it means to be a feminist, to recognize sexism ans gender bias, to stop oppression, and a whole host of other things. This is a long, hard road for me. Is Picasso's The Rest a sexist painting? I have a print of it above my desk. Should I, as a feminist, tear it down?

Smarter feminist bloggers, I would really love to get your opinion of this.

:: submitted by Jenevieve, 6:13 PM | link |