return of the king

…as listened to on tape, during drives between madison and northfield. in case you didn’t know (and you probably did), i like these books.

blow

this movie really reminded me of goodfellas. maybe that’s just because ray liotta is in it, but i think it goes further than that, for some reason.

northfork

what the hell was going on in this movie? no - seriously. we watched this on lea’s laptop, and the dvd had really quiet audio, so the totally bizarre nature of this movie combined with not being able to hear anything to produce a state of bewilderment. strange.

house of sand and fog

you’re going to get what you deserve. and maybe worse. i like ben kingsley, and have liked jen connelly ever since i first saw dark city (oh yeah, and labyrinth).

dead cities, red seas, and lost ghosts

a cross between my bloody valentine’s loveless, air’s moon safari, and something altogether more upbeat. i was prompted to check this out by pitchfork’s year end list, and am glad i did. i guess electronic music is one of my guilty pleasures - like reading sci fi books or eating reisens.

mulligatawny soup

another online find. this is the recipe, doubled.

ingredients:

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 3 tsp curry powder
• 8 cups chicken broth
• 1 apple, cored and chopped
• 1/2 cup white rice
• 1# chicken parts, cut into cubes
• 2 pinches dried thyme
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 cup heavy cream, heated

prep:

• saute onions, celery, carrot, and butter in large soup pot. add flour and curry, cook 5 minutes more. add chicken stock, mix well, bring to boil. simmer about 20 minutes.
• add apple, rice, chicken, salt, pepper, and thyme. simmer about 30 minutes, or until rice is done.
• when serving, add hot cream.

big fish

apparently this film is receiving mixed reactions. i thought it was quite good. i haven’t cried so much at a movie in a long time, if ever.

black bean soup

i found a recipe online for black bean soup that i actually liked. here’s what i ended up cooking up:

ingredients:

• vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 carrot, chopped
• about a tablespoon each of chili powder and cumin
• 3 cups beef stock (2×1.5cup cans)
• 2×15oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1×10oz can whole kernel corn
• 1×14.5oz can stewed tomatoes
• ground black pepper
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 red pepper, chopped

prep: with food processor or blender, puree together tomatoes and 1 can black beans; set aside. in large saucpan, heat oil over medium heat; cook onion, garlic, carrots, peppers, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. add chili powder and cumin; cook, stirring, for 1 minute. add stock, 1 can beans, corn, ground pepper; bring to boil. add tomato mixture, reduce heat, cover, simmer for 15 minutes or until carrots are tender.

i also added about a cup and a half of cooked rice to the finished mix, to make it more of a rice-soup blend; i could probably have added a cup, or three quarters of a cup, of rice instead for a proper “spicy black bean with rice” sort of soup, like they serve back home at hogan brothers. subbing out the beef stock for vegetable stock would make it a veggie dish, too.

pileup

i visited northfield this past weekend, which was nice. i also decided to depart earlier than normal, at 2:30, instead of 6. it turns out it’s a very good thing i did, as a bit of wet snow was falling back here in wisconsin. i also decided to take highway 12 from baraboo instead of the longer interstate-beltline route. at the time i cursed myself, as the roads were wet, crummy, and slow, but i felt better about my decision once i was safe at home and watching the news.

hedwig and the angry inch

i remember people talking about this while it was playing at carleton, but i never went and saw it. pity. it’s good.