How I feel about the Twilight Saga...

It is exactly, I mean exactly, like these stupid crushes I used to have in high school where I would actually be embarrassed to admit I liked the guy because he was usually kind of oddball, dorky or just plain weird.  Ashamed but strangely drawn in.  (Nothing, by the way, like the way I feel about my favorite founder.)

It's weird to think that one can have a crush on a book series, but looking back at the progression of the past week, it developed exactly like that.  So does, I guess, my relationship with many other books/movies/tv shows that I get really into.  It starts with curiosity, then denial, turns into compulsion, and finally fullblown addictive obsession.  (Sooner or later, more or less, I recover.)  In this case, I watched the movie over the weekend out of curiosity, to see what all the fuss was about, and then I've been sleeping at 3-4am this week because I stay up reading the books.  And now all I want to do is talk about it to anyone who will listen.

I still feel pretty conflicted about it.  The writing is totally atrocious - I tell people the dialogue is like reading my old AIM chat logs from high school, and the rest of the first book is like my high school diary where I would pontificate on the various perfections of some guy I never even talked to.  I think that's where it really sticks in my side, and maybe that's the genius of it--Stephenie Meyer managed to make us see just how absurd and silly we all were at that age (or still are).

I don't like most of the characters either - I despise Bella Swan and I think Edward Cullen is tiresome in his tortured angst.  The actors from the movie are another story; I think they are all adorable, even Kristen Stewart, whom I hated in the movie, but in real life she's like this spunky, awkward-funny amalgam of Janeane Garofalo, Alexa Chung, and Avril Lavigne (only not so bratty).  And yes, the chemistry between her and RPattz is like, super hotttt!

But I read some of the first book because, I don't know, I was feeling indulgent.  Then I read the synopses of the others to get the gist of what happened.  I started New Moon, and then the character of Jacob Black hooked me and drew me straight into the vortex of Twilight hysteria.  He's the one realistic, multi-dimensional, funny, tragic, incorrigible, naughty, beautiful, humane, immature, and wonderfully charismatic character in the whole series.  Plus I've had a mild fetish for Native Americans since I was young (I know.  Totally objectifying an entire culture).  When I got impatient with the smarmy, saccharine, and boring vampire-Bella bits, I started flipping through and only reading the parts that involved Jacob the werewolf.

I wonder if I should start the fourth book.

I'm actually thinking of getting a t-shirt that says "TEAM JACOB: I run with wolves."  When did it become okay to be this dorky?  And let's not get into how dirty us women feel about the sunny, likable, and newly ripped (but not quite legal) Taylor Lautner.  Control yourselves ladies, he's only 17.

And finally, the New Moon trailer:

 

$8K for a trip to Antarctica with Harvard Alumni

In my dreams, I could afford to join a trip like this.  Someday, man.

_____________________________

Antarctica on Corinthian II 
December 10–22, 2009 

Join James McCarthy, Alexander Agassiz Professor of Biological Oceanography in the Museum of Comparative Zoology, on a cruise through the ice-packed channels of Antarctica. Enjoy picturesque glaciers and mountains asCorinthian II traverses the Beagle Channel. From aboard the ship's fleet of Zodiacs, make new discoveries each day exploring the majestic Antarctic Peninsula, rich in wildlife. Observe the nesting habits of Gentoo, Chinstrap, and Adelie penguins, and admire minkes, humpbacks, and orcas as they cavort in the sparkling waters. 

Best of Portland

Some of the top images from the weekend.  I'd say they capture the spirit of the town.

Captions:

1. Hotel room at the Nines.
2. Bhumi and the funny four-way drinking fountains.
3. Prints at the Compound Gallery.
4. Woodblock prints at the Compound Gallery
5. "Drama" on the way to Powell's.
6. Bike stands in front of Powell's.
7. Powell's city of books.
8. Snack at Urban Fondue: white cheddar, gruyere, brie, caramelized onions, port.
9. Pink peonies at Sammy's Flowers.
10. Toga run on NW 23rd.
11. Desserts at Papa Hadyn.
12. Garry, Seth and Maureen at Papa Hadyn.
13. Seth's asparagus appetizer with poached egg on top.
14. My roasted chicken breast with mushroom-leek bread pudding.
15. Garry's croque monsieur.
16. The library at the Nines hotel.
17. Garry ordering a drink at Kelly's.
18. Random pants next to a dumpster.
19. Random gallery near Powell's.
20. T-shirt, as seen outside Byways Cafe.
21. Garry's OJ at Byways Cafe.
22. Amaretto french toast with pecan butter, bacon and over-easy egg at Byways Cafe.
23. Hallway at Kennedy School.
24. Garry and a drinking fountain at Kennedy School.
25. The gym at Kennedy School.
26. Detention Bar at Kennedy School.
27. Boiler Room Bar at Kennedy School.
28. Hockey masks at Local 35 on Hawthorne.
29. "Two heads tripping under one mushroom" at House of Vintage on Hawthorne.
30. Food cart on Hawthorne - CLOSED on Sundays =(.
31. Food carts on Hawthorne.
32. Garry and his spicy-grilled...corn on the cob.
33. Walking across Hawthorne Bridge.
34. Walking across Hawthorne Bridge.
35. Willamette River as seen off of Hawthorne Bridge.
36. "You're Cool" on Hawthorne Bridge.
37. Random park in downtown.
38. Sushi Land - conveyor belt sushi!

In Portland...$0.75 buys you a rocket pop and a song.

We were walking near the waterfront on our way to Saturday market when this tattooed young woman pushing ice cream in a tricycle came pedaling down the street with a giant red clown 'fro.  Garry stopped her for a rocket pop (you know, the red/white/blue ones) and she goes, "it also comes with a song!"

The next day, we ran into the same girl in a completely different part of Portland, in a neighborhood grocery on Hawthorne.  Alas, she was not wearing her giant red clown 'fro.


Cocky Leeky Soup

Otherwise known as cock-a-leekie or chicken & leek soup.  Get your mind out of the gutter!  I was introduced to this lovely, heart-warming soup pretty early on, when I went to the delightful cafe Rutabegorz in my hometown for the first time.  I loved it then, but haven't had it in about ten years.

So now, I have been making chicken soup left and right this year, and stuff with leeks also.  The other day, after Garry and I tore into yet another Costco rotisserie chicken, I thought, oh my lord, I have put put the chicken and leeks together this time!

I set about finding the perfect recipe but they are surprisingly hard to find, as I guess it is not a very well known soup outside of its native Scotland, where it is traditional indeed.  There were no recipes in the usual spots: allrecipes.com, bonappetit.com, foodtv.com, epicurious.com, cooksillustrated.com.  There isn't even a wikipedia article for cocky leeky soup!

Never fear, the powers of Google Search came to the rescue.  

I found a couple super basic recipe that were almost too simple to believe: chicken (whole), leeks, white rice, a bit of parsley, and broth.  That's it!  I mean I guess it makes sense, because leeks are so wonderfully flavorful and delicate that they really can shine all on their own in a dish.  But I wanted to get a bit more complexity of flavors so I decided to take the best of all the versions I came across, and make my own version:
  • Chicken stock or water: I took the scraps from my Costco chicken after stripping all the meat from it and boiled it with water, parsley, and bay leaf.  Strained and refrigerated it, then skimmed off the fat.  Yes, a bit labor-intensive.
  • About 3 leeks sliced, green parts trimmed off.  I proceeded to saute them in butter first to make a confit like in Molly Wizenberg's column.
  • Leftover cooked chicken meat.  I think I had almost a whole chicken, minus two legs and wings, but didn't end up using the whole thing
  • 1 1/2 slices of bacon, chopped.  Because bacon is awesome (though I trimmed a bit of fat)
  • 1 carrot, 2 stalks celery, and about half an onion, because I can't really imagine making a western soup without mirepoix.
  • 1 yukon gold potato, diced
  • About 3/4 c. barley: most recipes call for rice, but I prefer the texture of barley in soup
  • Another bay leaf for good measure.
  • Some chopped parsley
  • Salt and pepper to taste (be careful, the bacon will leech saltiness)
  • A few teaspoons of flour/cream to thicken
I started with onions and bits of bacon.  In retrospect, I would put only 1 slice because the flavor is so strong, and overpowers the leeks a bit.  Then added carrots and celery until tender.  Then added the leeks, potatoes, herbs.  Let the flavors meld a bit before adding chicken and barley.  Next time I would wait until the end to season, because I underestimated how salty the bacon would be.  When the barley is done, then I add the cream/flour.  Voila.

Other Versions

Late Foodie Tuesday: Gougeres

I just learned how to pronounce these correctly in the last four days.  I've been saying "gough-ghairs."  But it's actually "goo-zhere."  Anyway, they are delicious and I have been obsessed with them.  

So what are they exactly?  The base is pate a choux, the stuff you use for cream puffs and eclairs.  Except gougeres (the wiki article links to a NY Times recipe) are savory - no cream filling, just eggy airiness on the inside and delightful crispness on the outside, with a healthy dose of cheese and herbs mixed in.  I read about them in (what else) Molly Wizenberg's Bon Appetit column after first discovering them at Tartine Bakery (thyme and pepper, mMmMm).  They sounded pretty easy to make, and there are few things I love more than simple, delicious foods that are easy to make.

The first time I made them (pictured), I did it all right until the point where you add in the eggs.  You start with a bit of butter and melt it in a saucepan with water and salt until it gets a bit foamy.  Take it off the heat and dump in all the flour at once and begin to stir.  A lot.  It will form a ball and leave a thin film on the bottom (unless you use nonstick).

Then, the eggs.  One at a time.  This is where I messed up - I didn't incorporate the eggs as well as I should have, and as a result my gougeres did not puff up as nicely as they should have.  The photo below, that is NOT what your gougeres should look like before they go in the oven.  The second time I made them, I did it by hand and stirred until my arms were sore.  

It's interesting because when you first add the eggs, it looks like it will never mix, and it turns into slimy clumps.  Then, slowly but surely, the dough starts to accept the eggs.  Then in the span of a few seconds it will totally transform into this mixture that is thick, perfectly smooth, and glossy.  At that point it is ready for cheese and herbs (I have been making them with sage cuz that's what I have but you can use any number of herbs).

Spoon onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil (or you can pipe them if you wanna get fancy), and bake for about 30 min at 400 degrees.  Fantastic.

More random Pandora goodness.

"Sonho Dourado," by Daniel Lanois.  On the Friday Night Lights movie soundtrack.

This is not Daniel playing, but a YouTube cover tribute (no less beautiful I might add).  Perhaps just a tinge cheesy, but still rather raw and emotional and all-American.


Why is this site so funny!?

My friend Kate featured My Life is Average on her status message.  I went to read the stories and couldn't stop laughing.

I understand why average stories are so much better than "my life is great" stories.  Who wants to hear about how great someone's life is unless you happen to care about that person?

But I'm not sure why average stories are so much funnier than "my life sucks" stories. That doesn't make much sense to me, but there it is.

I've been into really old-fashioned music lately.

I've been trying to be more productive at work, and as such, I've resorted to an old trick I used while studying in high school: noise-canceling headphones and listening to soundtrack music.  Music with words is too distracting, and classical music often takes too much focus/brainpower.  So a nice medium is music from movie soundtracks -- just interesting enough but kind of repetitive and one-dimensional, which is good for white noise.

I built a new Pandora station starting with the score from Braveheart, one of my favorite movies (and also one of my favorite soundtracks), and also the score from The Mission.

One song I discovered through this station, which I've been obsessed with, is "Pavane," the second movement from Peter Warlock's beautiful, but very short, Capriol Suite.  I listen to it and think of a stately and grand, perhaps royal, Medieval wedding.

Another song I've loved since I studied it in a Chamber Music class in college is also a second movement, from Schubert's Piano Trio in B-flat major, "Andante un poco mosso." It's so achingly lovely, and this video shows cello virtuoso Yehudi Menuhin playing so soulfully, along with Maurice Gendron and Hepzibah Menuhin.


And lastly, I always love the songs used for dance sequences in some of my favorite Jane Austen-type movies, like the gorgeous Henry Purcell's "Hole in the Wall" used in Becoming Jane (the movie itself is only ok, but I think the moment Tom LeFroy shows up at 1:07 in the dance, after Jane has been waiting and pining for him all night, makes the whole thing worth it!).  And of course, "Mr. Beveridge's Magot" from the scene where Lizzy and Darcy first dance in the A&E version of Pride and Prejudice. Le sigh.