Movie Review: Chronicles of Narnia- Prince Caspian May 15, 2008

Alright, so… I TOTALLY loved this movie.  I loved the first Narnia movie.  I mean, what’s not to love about Narnia?  As a little girl I had to read The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe for third grade.  It was assigned reading.  So was Magician’s Nephew and Horse and His Boy, as well as Prince Caspian I believe.  I can’t remember, but I think those were the only ones we covered in class.  I, however, went to the library and read  Silver Chair and, my absolute favorite Voyage of the Dawn Treader.  No matter in what order you read the books, I have always found them to be a delight.  (It wasn’t until I got the Narnia box set that I knew about the final book, The Last Battle, and I read it… and cried profusely and loved the series even more).

Shame on anyone who hasn’t already read the full set of Narnia, seriously… I’d say to stop reading, that Narnia existence offends me, but that would actually seem a bit rude.  Instead, I will just beseech those who haven’t read them to go out and get them!

Anyways, we’re talking movies and not books.  So, the story behind Prince Caspian is that while it’s only been a year for the Pevensie children, it’s been well over 1000 years in Narnia.  In that time, the old ways of Narnia have been forgotten and the Telmarines have taken over, thinking they had eradicated Narnians.  When Caspian’s uncle finally gets an heir, he realizes his life is in danger.  He flees and ends up with all the supposedly extinct Narnians.  With use of Susan’s horn, the Pevensie kids end up back in Narnia, prepared to get their kingdom back in order.  War ensues, but in the end good prevails.

I have to say, as a true Narnia fanatic, I ALWAYS walk into these sorts of movies with a boulder of skepticism.  I mean, my wary attitude has a reason, while LOTR was well done, just look at what they’ve done to the Harry Potter films.  Seriously.  However, I have to say that so far both Narnia movies have been just beautiful.  The cinematography is breathtaking, the plots are true to story and it truly seems to capture all I envisioned of Narnia since I was a little girl.  Overall, I just loved it.  The kids are original from the first movie and it was amazing to see them growing up. 

As far as I know, they will be continuing with the Narnia Chronicles for a few movies more.  While it is not in the Narnia chronological sequence, it seems to be following the publishing sequence… which in all reality is good to follow because then we get to keep the same actors in the movies and watch them essentially grow up.  But, taking away all of my Narnia bias, the movie is still wonderful.  So everyone go and see it, go rent the first movie if you haven’t seen it first though… so you can be in on all the history. 

A girl reminiscing about bikes May 14, 2008

I haven’t the faintest idea why, but I have been very nostalgic of my time in New York lately.

Last night, scizor had a fight with another of our friends. He was all huffy, so obviously he came on over to my place to pick me up so we could go to Denny’s (A tradition begun with my best friend and SIL, Dy, and now continued with my ‘hubby’). Here we have hot chocolate and just talk, order something if we feel like it… but mostly we spend over 2 hours talking about nothing and everything.

I don’t remember what we were talking about for me to mention this, but I brought up how a certain gent (funny, this seems to be his nickname now on here! lol) showed me this site for this beautiful island and how it had a lilac Festival. Scizor, of course, automatically said how I’d be in heaven in such a place. It’s common knowledge that while tulips are my favorite flowers (as mentioned in a melancholic state for V-day), my favorite floral scent is lilac. In fact, a few years ago when I couldn’t find a commercial perfume that I liked, I would order a perfume oil mixture of lilac, magnolia and ivy.

Anyway, the thing about that lovely island is that it doesn’t have cars. You can only go around on bicycles or horse-drawn carriages. Here is where scizor learned something new about me because he very snobbishly said that I don’t do bicycles. But he was actually very wrong and I set him straight immediately.

Of course, scizor had no clue that in NY one of the main family activities we used to do since I learned how to ride a two-wheel bike was to go bicycling as a family. Sure, I can’t do the cross country thing, but I used to love going to the parks and just going around with everyone else. And in NY there are quite a few neighborhood parks where we used to haul our bikes to.

We used to make entire days of it… First we’d go and fill up those red thermos jugs, one with iced tea and one with water and lots of ice. We’d wash out the square wicker picnic basket with the sets of 4 plates, mugs and utensils. Then we’d place all our bikes onto the car carrier and head down to the supermarket. There we’d go to the deli section and get some cold cuts, fresh rolls, pickled mushrooms and some mousse (there was this cookie speckled on that was SO good!). From there we’d go over to Flushing Meadow Park to the southern section which has Meadow Lake. This lake has the bike path around it and nice fields where you can sit down and just relax. My mother would sit and read while my brother and I went around the lake.

Those kind of picnic bike trips were common occurrences.

I miss those pickled mushrooms and the mousse.

When we got to PR, we brought our bikes with us. But where we live in my hometown, there are too many curves and there really isn’t a good place to bike through, not when you are used to open parks and winding lake trails. My bike fell into disuse and eventually was thrown out because it got ruined from being on the balcony so long. It took my little brother until last year to learn how to ride his two-wheeler. That was an ordeal. I don’t remember my learning to be that difficult. Because, as always, the story went for me how my mother let go the first time and I crashed a little ahead, but only when I’d realized she’d let go of me. She’d been worried that I wouldn’t ride anymore but instead I just picked myself up with the bike and kept on going all on my own.

When teaching my younger brother to ride, I got a chance to use his. I was almost afraid that I wouldn’t remember how. It had been well over 9 years since I rode a bicycle, but it all came back to me. If the area were better for it, I’d actually love to have a bicycle. However, no point in getting one now.

Needless to say, szicor was very impressed with my memory… and how picnics were so rare here, and how he wanted to go to NY someday. We joked and I told him of how it would be like if I were to be his guide, and I’d take him to all my old haunts, the places of my childhood memories. All this talk made me feel very homesick, my home being NY. One would think that after a decade I would feel more in place in PR, but that’s not the case. I feel like I was already very grown up when I came to PR even though I was only 11. Some of my stories made scizor very sad and he began to understand some of the deep rooted resentment I seem to hold for this island… but, I’ll leave those stories for another entry.

Last night ended with us hitting the beach at 3AM. We sat on the sand and watched the moon and waves. Then I started collecting seashells and stepping into the clear cool water. It was shallow and we walked along the starlit surf. Then we went home, the hood to my sweater full of pretty shells.

Lab Rat #6 May 13, 2008

(AKA: Amanda’s Makeover)

The title is actually the name of the mission that my friend Amanda has given her own makeover. Why? Well, because she says that’s how she thinks she’s going to feel. After about 2 weeks, I don’t think she really feels that way but now the name has stuck. I will now refer to her as #6 from here on out, even though the actual number is not relative to anything at all other than it being the first number she blurted out.

So, here’s the backstory: #6 is a friend of scizor’s and mine. She’s a very sweet girl of 19 who, just recently, took a good look at her closet and realized that it’s filled with jeans, converse sneakers and black t-shirts. This along with an invitation for a chic dinner with some friends at Longhorn made her notice that she didn’t have any outfits appropriate for such a dinner occasion. Aghast by this discovery, she promptly went out and bought herself some very cute springy dresses and she intoned to any around her how she truly needed a makeover. Thankfully, this plea came upon my beloved ‘hubby’s’ ears first and immediately he had the answer for her: “Ask Ivy. She does this all the time. In fact, she seems to live for it. You’d be in no better hands.” He assured her.

At first it took a few tries to get both she and I in the same room together, it took a few more tries to get us both and her new dresses. For it was with the dresses she felt that her change could truly be envisioned and realized. Without even having seen the dresses I knew that I was just what she needed. The plan, of course, was to make her realize that only I would work for the task. It had to come from her, since the changes she was wishing for were most complete. In order to change, you must want to do so, not be coerced into it.

Slowly I worked to build her trust.

I think at first #6 was a little skeptical. Others had tried to make her over, but none of it seemed to stick. Any attempts by her mother would be met with arguments, friends seemed only capable of slutting her out for a night. The change she wanted was radical, complete. She wanted to feel like a young woman, dress like one, have various outfits to choose from, know how to select the right pieces for herself. Surely it was a lot to ask but I’d done just this to many people before her.

What #6 didn’t know is that for a while now I have been casually running an Image and Shopping Consultation business in my free time (I just added a page dedicated to this on my blog, so be sure to check it out). I practiced on friends, but then I saw that a lot more people needed help. With very fair fees and my exquisite taste, I have aided in the transformation of several ladies, and even a few gents who wished to become ladies. I am very careful in who I decide to help, the interview process is actually a bit long because I like to learn everything about the person I am working with. In no way do I wish to change them. I want to polish them, bring out their best sides and make them shine.

So a week and a half ago, we were #6 at the mall. She needed shoes to go with her new dresses. Converse sneakers just weren’t going to cut it with them. Over lunch we discussed her thoughts, her sizes, her desires, her price range. This was the first in depth interview we had and we spent at least an hour just talking. I wanted her to feel comfortable and confident. What she probably didn’t realize was that that shopping trip was going to make or break whether I could fully help her or not. I knew this, so I needed to be sure I’d read her correctly, if she was going to be willing to trust me. The last part is extremely important, something I learned time and again with my sis-in-law, Dy. It took me quite some time to gain her trust, but I’d like to say that since she met me I achieved more for her appearance than her step-mother and sister combined had in the years before she met me.

We began slowly browsing shops, seeing what styles seemed to be in fashion and which she would feel comfortable wearing. Then I slowly got her to try on a couple of shoes in several stores, receiving her thoughts and opinion the entire time. Along the way we spoke of comfort and appeal, as well as how one did not need to “match” things in their wardrobe but learn to “coordinate” them. This last phrase is one I often have to drill into my clients. Far too many can go too far with matching things to the extreme. Sure, you want things to go together, but only enough so it looks good together, not that every single item be just one precise shade. I have to say #6 was a wonderful sport, she withstood all my cutting witticism like a real champ. In fact, she found them extremely funny and put her at ease. This made her more willing to try things I suggested that she normally would have shied away from.

Thank goodness she did! Both shoes she got from this trip were absolutely gorgeous (one a pair of white pleated front open toe t-strap wedges and another a chocolate round open toe wedge with faux reptile skin and gold metal details) and both would work with either dress as well as some of her other clothes.

After this trip #6 is most eager to move on to other things. I spent an entire afternoon last week going through her clothes, her makeup, her accessories and her beauty regimen. We even took the time to write up in a sort of journal all the things she wished to cover, what I recommended, what we needed to move towards. The progress will be slow. There are quite a few things that we need to buy. But there is also a lot that we need to work out with her attitude and the way she sees herself. As with many, #6 does not see herself clearly. She lacks self esteem but has incredible potential. I’m definitely looking forward to making more progress.

Let it be known that #6 gave me full permission to document her transformation on my blog. There are no pictures as of yet, but I hope to remedy that soon and see if this site will let me put them up, it’s been acting a little funny as of late.

I can’t wait to get things going some more.

I’m bubbling with ideas and I just know #6 will turn out to be such a knock out!

Stay tuned!

A girl blogitating May 12, 2008

(blogitating = blog meditating…. well, I try)

One of the things that I did learn for the whole mess a month ago with my blog was how many of my friends also had blogs.  But, as they very disdainfully told me, their blogs were PRIVATE.  I could hear the censure in their voices, wondering why it never occurred to me to make my own blog private as well.  And, you know what?  I don’t think it ever crossed my mind that I should do so.

Ever since then I have had this running in the back of my mind.  Should I have entries blocked and private?  Should I be such a blogtator as to rule who can read what content and when?  Should I be so very elitist and only expect a certain hand selected few to read my thoughts, rants, recipes and ramblings?

Then I got to wondering as to which blogology was more vain…

Is it those who post all their stuff for the world to see?  They put their words out into the blogiverse and expect people to come and flock to their humble little blog.  They are elated when comments come through from strangers, keep track of their numbers to see how much traffic entries make and keep on blogging in the hopes of just being read and heard.

Or is it those who write and keep it private only to a select few?  Those who thoughtfully address things only to a certain audience, keep a control on their traffic and only dispense with their addresses to trusted few.

After all this time, I know it’s pretty obvious to which blogosophy I belong to.  And, yanno, even after that stupid mess, I’m not sorry.  I like the random openness of blogs.  I was delighted when MQ found my sleeping sewing machine… when I stalked CB’s failed appletini cupcakes… when TW was hating on meme’s and stalking on Slush… when I lurked all over countless other’s blogs and randomly slapped them onto my blogroll.  If our blogs hadn’t been very public, none of this would have happened and my past 4 and a half months of blogging would have been all the poorer.

Why then did I get so much damn flack from so many people about having my humble little blog (one I never plastered the address around for, instead just letting the blog fates do with it as they will) public?  I know a few others who had some issues and skirmishes on their own blogs… so I wonder, would having had your blog private made up for whatever little mishap you had?  Do you feel like you would have lost on so much more?

Can someone please explain to me the point of a private blog?  Does it then become more diary than blog?  For that, shouldn’t they just stick to livejournal or some such in order to have a better medium for their expressions?

Or am I being a blogist and not open-minded enough to understand this?

Mother’s Day Breakfast May 11, 2008

Every year my aunt and I are the ones who pull together the meals for Mother’s Day. We usually just think about it and on the Friday I travel home, we compare notes and buy whatever ingredients we need. Lately, we’ve unofficially agreed that I’m in charge of breakfast and dessert while she’s in charge of the late lunch/early dinner. This usually has to do with the fact that I need to travel back to my apartment on that day and can’t deal with that meal and packing all at once. I tried it one year and just about lost it. So it’s just best if we both stick to our strengths (even though my aunt is reknowned for her ‘cooking’ which usually involves her phone and some take-out menu, she has mastered a few dishes which are really quite delicious).

As you have seen so far, I spent Friday evening baking the bread to go with my aunt’s meal. Yesterday I spent it on the brioche and cupcakes. I worked all through the night. By the time I was finished it was 7AM and I didn’t wish to sleep through breakfast. So I stayed awake and began breakfast at 8AM. The brioche was already made so I just had to worry about the frittata.

Spinach and ham egg white frittata

Serves 6

• Sautee some diced white onion until transluscent.
• Add about 10oz. defrosted spinach into the pan and mix.
• When spinach is heated, add about 10 slices turkey ham.
• Place mixture into the bottom of a square casserole pan.
• Cover with sharp cheddar cheese, approx. 6 ounces.
• Beat 12 egg whites with a hand mixer on medium speed until the mixture is white and fluffy. It shouldn’t reach soft peak stage.
• Add a large dollop of the egg white mixture to 7 egg yolks which have been lightly beaten. Slowly fold together.
• Add the lightened egg yolk mixture to the egg whites and fold gently together.
• Smooth egg mixture over the rest in the casserole dish,
• Bake at 400F until the top is golden brown and the egg foam has cooked thoroughly, approximately 20-25 minutes.

Final Review: This breakfast was a huge hit with the mother’s and everyone else. It was light and yet very filling. We’re huge fans of spinache, but because my grandmother cannot have anything with high levels of potassium, I actually made a small loaf pan for her with everything but the spinach. It was also very delicious. The bottom layer can be anything you want it to be so don’t be afraid to mix it up. The whites are super fluffy and you needn’t use so many of the yolks. I usually just use enough to show a slight yellow tinge to the mixture.

The funniest moment was when my grandfather took my elegant breakfast and just made it into a sandwich. Got to love the man. He did the same thing for dinner, where he shoved some of the meatballs into his french bread and consumed. I wonder if it’s from him that I get my love for sandwiches.

PS: Check back to last week because I did a backpost about going to karaoke. Don’t want any of you to miss any posts!

How TW saved my cupcakes May 11, 2008

Alright, so maybe she didn’t SAVE them. I sort of saved them myself… but that doesn’t make for a very good title.

As it so happens, for Mother’s day I decided to make red velvet cupcakes. Out of all the cakes I make, I think red velvet is probably the favorite. So I try and make a lot of them. This time I think I may have overdone it.

The thing with my recipe of red velvet is that it doesn’t use cocoa powder (many may argue then that it isn’t really red velvet, but I don’t care! My gradmama can’t have chocolate because of bad kidneys) and I use vegetable oil and a couple teaspoons of vinegar. The latter making quite a lot of bubble when it acts with the baking soda. So when baking, you want to get your batter into the oven as soon as possible or it won’t lift up as it should. And let me tell you that this batter really does rise. I swear, it doubles in volume when baking. And because of the oil, you DEFINITELY do not want it sitting in a cupcake liner… getting it all oily and not looking so great.

So how did TW save my cupcakes? Well.. she gave me cupcake pans which I remembered to bring with me to my hometown, which were sorely needed as this recipe made me churn out a whopping amount of batter for an equivalent of 54 cupcakes!! With these extra pans I was able to bake them all up and not worry about deflate or greasy papers. Thank heavens for that. I’d been making bread for what felt like most of the weekend and just didn’t have the energy to be all too creative when it came to my cakes.

(I have admitted to being a VERY messy baker)

Oh, and the round tin was to use the rest of the batter

since I could only make 48 with the tins

and I still had enough batter for 6 more cupcakes.

I did CB proud, no batter gets left behind!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

• 3 3/4 cups self rising flour
• 2 tsps. baking soda
• 2 tsps. vanilla
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 1/4 oil
• 1 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
• 2 tsps. vinegar
• 2 bottles red food dye

1. Mix milk with cream of tartar and set aside.
2. Beat sugar and oil until fluffy. Add eggs and continue to beat to maintain fluffiness to mixture.
3. Add vanilla and baking soda. Blend together.
4. Alternate milk and flour additions.
5. Mix in food dye.
6. Blend in vinegar.
7. Divide into cupcake pans, not filling them more than halfway.
8. Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 8oz. package cream cheese
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 lb. confectioner’s sugar
• 2 tsps. meringue powder
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Mix softened cream cheese and butter until fluffy and creamy.
2. Add vanilla extract.
3. Slowly beat in half of the sugar. Then add the merengue powder. Beat in the rest of the sugar.
4. Cover lightly and chill for at least 2 hours.
5. Frost cupcakes liberally.

Final Review: I accidentally spilled about half a bottle of vanilla extract into my cupcakes. I’d confused the new box of vanilla with the box that had the bottle of red dye. When I realized what was coming out of the bottle was the wrong color, I’d already tipped in about half of the damn bottle. Still, it seems that the cake came out delicious because my family was secretly wolfing down the cupcakes long before they were supposed to be served.

I also admit that I seem to really suck at frosting cupcakes. It’s so shameful to admit since I seem to post and be around so many amazing cupcake frosters! But, I tried!

My mom like them. She thought they looked like flowers.

I got tired and gave up piping frosting about a dozen in (hey! I was frosting cupcakes at 6am after NO sleep). So I switched using the straight icing spatula just to show CB that I could do that funny little swirl she was sobbing mentioning that she couldn’t do.

I’m rotten, arent I?

A weekend of french breads May 10, 2008

As most have you seen time and time again, I mastered the making of french bread with the DB February challenge.  Since then I have to honor my family’s request for it every weekend I go home.  This weekend was no different.  So I spent Friday evening churning out a double recipe for nice petit pains, half plain and half with poppy seeds.  I think I can now do them with my eyes closed and it’s actually almost relaxing.  Who knew I’d be saying that? 

Empowered by one french bread success, and knowing that those little rolls would go well with the Mother’s Day dinner my aunt was making, I needed to come up with something else for Mother’s Day breakfast.  So, at first I went through Dorie’s Baking: From My Home to Yours  looking for the lemon poppy seed muffins.  I was almost sure that those little darling were what I was going to make.  Yet something kept niggling at the back of my mind that it just didn’t feel right.  I already knew I was going to be making a spinah frittata and the muffins just didn’t seem right.  Perhaps if this year I’d decided that fruit salad and soft boiled eggs were to be on the menu, but that wasn’t to be the case. 

Instead I turned to page 48 and opted for this:

Golden Brioche Loaves

2 packets active dry yeast
1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch water
1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch whole milk
3 3/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature but still slightly firm

For The Glaze
1 large egg
1 tablespoon water

To Make The Brioche: Put the yeast, water and milk in the bowl of a stand mixer and, using a wooden spoon, stir until the yeast is dissolved. Add the flour and salt, and fit into the mixer with the dough hook, if you have one. Toss a kitchen towel over the mixer, covering the bowl as completely as you can– this will help keep you, the counter and your kitchen floor from being showered in flour. Turn the mixer on and off a few short pulses, just to dampen the flour (yes, you can peek to see how you’re doing), then remove the towel, increase the mixer speed to medium-low and mix for a minute or two, just until the flour is moistened. At this point, you’ll have a fairly dry, shaggy mess.
Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula, set the mixer to low and add the eggs, followed by the sugar. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes, until the dough forms a ball. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter in 2-tablespoon-size chunks, beating until each piece is almost incorporated before adding the next. You’ll have a dough that is very soft, almost like batter. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue to beat until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes.
Transfer the dough to a clean bowl (or wash out the mixer bowl and use it), cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature until nearly doubled in size, 40 to 60 minutes, depending upon the warmth of your room.
Deflate the dough by lifting it up around the edges and letting it fall with a slap to the bowl. Cover the bowl with the plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator. Slap the dough down in the bowl every 30 minutes until it stops rising, about 2 hours, then leave the uncovered dough in the refrigerator to chill overnight.
The next day, butter and flour two 8 1/2-x-4 1/2-inch pans.
Pull the dough from the fridge and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Cut each piece of the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each piece into a log about 3 1/2 inches long. Arrange 4 logs crosswise in the bottom of each pan. Put the pans on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat, cover the pans lightly with wax paper and leave the loaves at room temperature until the dough almost fills the pans, 1 to 2 hours. (Again, rising time with depend on how warm the room is.)

Getting Ready To Bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

To Make the Glaze: Beat the egg with the water. Using a pastry brush, gently brush the tops of the loaves with the glaze.
Bake the loaves until they are well risen and deeply golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer the pans to racks to cool for 15 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the pans and turn the loaves out onto the racks. Invert again and cool for at least 1 hour.

Final Review: I actually had a lot of fun with this recipe.  I even went as far as actually buying unsalted butter to use instead of just substituting it for I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter (which is a heck of a lot cheaper and what I ALWAYS use when baking).  At first I thought I was doing it all wrong, my mixer never seemed to let the bough pull away from the pan.  Each rise seemed to be on time and I watched in wonder as the bough stopped being battery in the fridge, a progress made inward as it cooled.  Since I didn’t sleep overnight I just let the dough chill for about 6 hours.  Then I did the log rolling and the last bit of rising. 

  I was almost afraid they wouldn’t rise to fill the pan while I waited.  I sort of think, though Dorie never mentioned it, that one should work the dough a little bit before rolling it into logs to warm it up some.  I didn’t and my rising took nearly 4 hours and that’s something considering the early hours of a PR morning are no longer cool.  Still, they eventually did rise, much to my relief, and I got to baking them. 

I probably should have taken them out at 25min and not 30

In the end, they sliced up really nicely.  The crumb was just wonderful but I wasn’t too fond of the taste.  They are meant to be very buttery, but I almost fel like they were too satly.  I don’t know precisely what it was.  Still, I enjoyed the process of making them and I look forward to trying them again and maybe making them into pecan rolls or something. 

 

A girl going home for mother’s day May 9, 2008

So, even though I have neither spoken to my mother nor been home in a month, I’m trekking to my hometown this weekend for Mother’s Day.  While we may have our disagreements, I know I could not snub my grandmother on such a special weekend.  Nor can I ignore my aunt who is my mother away from home (she works on campus and she REALLY comes through for me whenever I have any type of emergency away from home).

The cold war may well continue…

An all out war may even be waged…

I might even try to escape somewhere else…

But for better or for worse, I’m bucking up the courage to hit up my hometown.

Hopefully when I get back I will remember to back-post all about the fun night I had at Karaoke on Wednesday.

I will surely also have wonderful pictures of the delicious food I have made over the weekend.  I already have thoughts of red-velvet cupcakes (I’m blaming CB for this) , trying my hand at making Dorie’s Golden Brioche Loaves and even churning out French bread petit pains.  This will all compliment Sunday’s menu beautifully.  At least I have cooking and baking to look forward to!

To all the mother’s…

I wish a Happy Mother’s Day!

I know this holiday is celebrated at different times of the year around the world.

But I still think the sentiment carries weight.

Where would we be without our mother’s?

(Even if you’re on the outs with them

, the love is always there)

(

A girl who loves karaoke May 8, 2008

Now THERE’S an admission not many people would ever make in their lives.

Like, not ever.

But y’all already know that I’m not like anyone else, and I’m DEFINITELY not normal. 

Or at least I’d hope you’d realized this

after 4 months of blogging

And aren’t just being delusional about me.

I know I’m weird.  I’ve embraced it.  In fact, to let you in on a bigger secret:

I require no alcohol in order to do karaoke.

Oh yes!  I sing off-key, out-of-tune and just plain badly without liquid courage.  That’s not to say that while out at the bar I won’t have a drink or ten two.  But I don’t need to imbibe to be looser and relaxed and willing to make a fool of myself.  I can accomplish this all on my own, thankyouverymuch.

So when my dear friend Grace called me up yesterday evening and asked me to go out with her, and she told me how there was going to be karaoke at the place we’d be going, I knew I would be going. 

Now, I think y’all can tell that I’m not the typical college student.  I’m not some party girl who hits up the bars regularly.  (If I was then I think I’d have a lot more bar reviews than resturant ones.. although, since I’ve been to all of them in the 5 years I’ve been in college, I think I could write reviews anyways!) But tonight, I just knew that I needed to go and have some fun with Grace.  We never see one another and we hardly ever hang out anymore.  I remember a time when we’d always hang out and see one another daily.  But, that’s besides the point. 

I got all pretty and went on over to meet up with Gracie and her new boyfriend.  I’d never met him and I didn’t even know she was dating anyone.  I really need to pay more attention to FaceBook and the info my friends leave on there.  Either that or I need to get in the habit of calling certain of my friends out of the blue just to hear all about their lives.  (I always wonder why I don’t do that more often.)

So, how did the night turn out?

 

 

 

 

We had a rockin’ good time!

Heck yeah!

At first the boys were a little shy, so Grace and I warned up with

“Bitch” by Meredith Brooks and “Like a Virgin” by Madonna:

Yeah, we weren’t sure of the words.  Thank goodness for the words on that darn screen!

The boys eventually warmed up

ie: drank enough

We also had a VERY cute DJ who sang too:

We sang loads of cheesy songs and drank lots of rum and cokes, and we were the ONLY ones singing.  But you know what?  We really didn’t care.  When you have a kick-ass group, you don’t need anyone else to help you have a good time. 

Stay tuned for next week

After enough begging discussion, an even bigger group is hitting up the bar for karaoke.

 

Food Review: Pachamama May 7, 2008

Located in Terrace, Mayaguez

It feels like we’d been trying to make it to this little restaurant for about 2 weeks.  It’s so tiny and located where a beauty supply once was.  In fact, scizor wasn’t even sure where it was and his dorm is in Terrace.  We had a date to go last Friday but then his car broke down and we kept putting off the date.  Today, after taking over scizor’s iPod to get fixed, we finally made a stop at this little spot. 

The decor is very artisitic and quiet.  The atmosphere is intimate and seats no more than 18 people total.  The chairs and tables were very simple.  I really liked how cool and placid it felt.  There were beautiful pictures of orchids along the walls.  While the menu wasn’t official looking, the food was surprisingly international.  There were greek salads, tandoori chicken and even a type of fried rice.  When asking the waitress, she explains that the food is very natural and healthy.

I ordered some lasagna and scizor had the ceviche.  Both were very delicious.  As we quietly shared our meal, we noticed that a wall was lined with books.  A table was reserved just with a glass chest set.  There was an entire rack by the wall with magazines.  It made you just want to settle in for a quiet read with some fruit juice.  The retreat was welcome after having been caught in traffic in such oppressive heat.  For dessert I had coffee flan and it reminded me of when I was a little girl and would spend afternoons with my great-grandmother.  She used to love drinking her coffee, very light and sweet, and dunking in soft fresh bread into it.  That flavor was what the flan reminded me of and I was delighted by it.   

We agreed that we’re fully placing this place on our list of favorite new places.  The food was filling but not heavy.  The place was intimate yet airy and open.  The choices were healthy and we joked how the experience was a very organic one.  Considering that the propensity of Puerto Rican cuisine is mostly to deep fry with lots of starchy food, Pachamama seems to be a novelty.  I enjoyed it immensely and look forward to returning to try out some more things from the menu.  There wasn’t anything I didn’t recognize but I can’t think of many places, if any, in this area that would actually have them. 

A word of caution: because the place is so small, they only deal in cash.  Still, the prices are more than fair.