Pretty Babies

Our Changing Kitchen

Our lives (and diets) have been changing lately to be more nutrient-rich and eliminate empty calories, toxins and other bad stuff. Basically it means we've been eating lots and lots of fruit, veggies, beans and nuts. We've also begun the process of purging our home of refined sugar, white flour, processed food and cutting way back on animal products. Sounds extreme, and in some ways, it is, but so far its been a delicious and extremely satisfying. I'll periodically post some of our new favorites and recipes.

This last weekend we had Southwest Black Bean Burgers with Whole Wheat Buns. So delicious!

The recipe for the Black Bean Burgers comes from Veganomicon, a wonderfully entertaining cookbook. I'm excited to try as many recipes as possible! 

Black Bean Burgers

(served with fresh avocado and spinach)

2 c. cooked black beans (or 1 15-oz can, drained and rinsed)

1/2 c. vital wheat gluten

1/2 c. plain whole wheat bread crumbs

1 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/4 c. water

1 tbsp. tomato paste (or ketchup)

1/4 c. finely chopped cilantro

2 cloves garlic

1/2 small onion

Mash the beans with a fork until no whole beans remain (half-beans are fine). 

Add the wheat gluten (and for those of you who have never used wheat gluten, don't skip this! it's worth a trip to the grocery or health food store to get this. It's the not-so-secret ingredient that gives the burgers their delicious bite and chewiness), bread crumbs, chili powder, cumin, water and tomato paste.

Mince, press or crush the garlic into the mix and use a grater to grate the onion in. 

Mix all ingredients with a fork then knead with your hands until the mixture is firm and thoroughly mixed.

Divide the mix into six equal pieces and form into patties.

Use a thin layer of oil to cook patties for about 5 minutes on each side.

The recipe I used for the Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns came from a friend's blog full of great nutritional information recipes and well-written and well-researched commentaries on health and nutrition. 

February: Twisted Love (4 of 4)

I feel a little ashamed that I haven't posted anything at all this week... two movies in a row. You'd think we didn't do anything else!

Anyway, here is our fourth and final twisted love pic: LARS AND THE REAL GIRL

To be entirely up front, we've only seen this one once so far. So we're not self-proclaimed experts on this film but we did thoroughly enjoy it and it fits in just right with the theme.
For what it's worth though, I do have some thoughts to share with you.
The story centers around Lars, a socially backward young man whose "real girl" is an anatomically correct life-size doll he ordered from the internet and introduces to his family and neighbors as his girlfriend Bianca. 'Nuff said about that. You'll get the plot as you watch. Ryan Gosling is painfully awkward (and therefore spot on) as Lars. Paul Schneider and Emily Mortimer (I love her!) are just fantastic as Lars' brother and sister-in-law. But honestly, every single person in the film was cast just perfectly right down to their Minnesota/Wisconsin/Scandinavian accents and exceedingly normal appearances.
The love story here really isn't about a boy's love for his fake-girlfriend. It's about a community's love for one of their own and willingness to support him even through ridiculousness, disbelief and frustration. We thought it was a beautiful story and left us feeling a renewed belief in modern society and values. There are still folks who believe in fidelity, honesty, integrity and moral courage. It was really encouraging to watch.
One final note, the copy we watched had quotes all over that said how hilarious it was and that it was the best comedy of the year. Stuff like that. This is not a comedy, just know that going in. Sure, there are lighthearted moments and you'll laugh now and then, but comedy? No way.

PG-13. I honestly can't remember anything uncomfortable or inappropriate. But I only saw it once.

Up next week: A new month and a new theme! Our first film will be "The Secret of Roan Inish".

February: Twisted Love (3 of 4)

Third Installment: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. 

Though the players seem a more conventional pair of lovers (young, beautiful, about the same age, both human), this is probably the twistiest story of twisted love we'll offer. In fact, you may not even see any love at all until the end of the movie. And you'll probably need to pop it back into the machine a second time just to figure out what you just watched.
So why the recommendation? Because this movie is amazing. It's a mind-bender for sure and has more than its fair share of uncomfortable moments, but the overall result is unlike anything else you will ever watch.
Jim Carrey is particularly great as the heart-broken hero and Kate Winslet as his intense, off-putting and colorful girlfriend. I'm not going to give away any of the plot because I think you just need to see it for yourself the first time.  Tom Wilkinson is awesome as usual. Ditto Mark Ruffalo and Elijah Wood. Even Kirsten Dunst turns in a great performance.

Note on the rating: Yes, it is "R". And if your general rule is not to see movies with an "R" rating then this is not the movie to break your rules for. It's great and we love it, but it is "R" for the reasons you've stopped watching. Language, adult themes, etc.
Alternative: not what we'd call twisted, just quirky. But also more palatable to the general public: Stranger than Fiction. Stars Will Farrel who turns out to be a very talented actor in this more dramatic role. Also Emma Thompson, Dustin Hoffman, Maggie Gyllenhal and Queen Latifah. It's fun, romantic and another favorite.

Up next week: Lars and the Real Girl

Little Builder

Happy's favorite toy at the moment is his lego set. Hands down. There is no activity into which he more happily dives and he can be perfectly entertained for an hour or more just building enormous towers like the one you see here.

Though this one is pretty conservative, many of his finest designs have a distinctly Seussian aesthetic: curvy, leaning, colorful concoctions that literally defy gravity for the 20 seconds that they stand. 

Oh Saint Valentine

 Sweet Saint Valentine made a long-awaited stop at our house last night. Curmudgeon is of the old "Valentines Day is an invention of flower companies to get us to spend money" school. So the fact that he caved enough to bring me a rose and switch his sleeping schedule in the middle of the week so that we could spend the evening together is a big deal!

 

We also got the cooperation of our children, who slept through the whole evening (at least until C. had to head off to work. Then it was business as usual).  We shared a lovely and high-falootin supper of a colorful and delicious salad (spinach, mustard greens, every color of pepper, tomatoes, grapes and strawberries) followed by the scrumptious collection of goodies you see here:

Home-made hummus and pita wedges, pears, apples, grapes, strawberries, peppers, dates, rice crackers and-- the treat of the evening-- honey-infused chevre cheese. As my husband can attest, I've been craving (and talking about craving) chevre for over a year now. Pretty much since I became pregnant with Punky and realized that I couldn't have any. The long yearning was deliciously satisfied last night. 

We drank Virgil's rootbeer. If you've never had Virgils then you are missing one of the great pleasures of life. Let me read to you from the ingredient list: Anise, Licorice, Vanilla, Cinnamon, Clove, Wintergreen, Sweet Birch, Molasses, Nutmeg, Pimento Berry Oil, Balsam Oil, and Oil of Cassia. Sounds delicious, no? Well it is.

Then for dessert, dark chocolate covered almonds rolled in turbinado sugar and sea salt. Mmmm.

It was a good day.

Indonesian Peanut Sauce (Sambal Kacang)

My dad tells me I ate peanut butter sandwiches exclusively until I was five. Though my palate has been conditioned for the stuff, I think you'll like this peanut sauce too! We typically put it on our chicken sate or Gado Gado. (Gado Gado is an Indonesian salad with many, many variations. Ours usually included big chunks of cucumber, tomato, sliced hard-boiled eggs, shredded cabbage, and limes).

You can include noodles in the salad too, or put the sauce on just noodles. Here's the recipe we've been using (you can also use regular peanut butter and coconut milk, of course):

Ingredients

0.5 cup reduced fat peanut butter 1.5 cloves garlic, chopped 1-2 hot chili peppers, chopped 1 inch fresh ginger root, peeled and chopped 4.5 teaspoons palm sugar 2 cups light coconut milk 2 tablespoons kecip manis (sweet soy sauce) 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice

Directions

Makes 2.5 cups. Serving size: 2 tbs

1. Puree peanut butter, garlic, chili peppers, and ginger root in food processor. (You may skip this step if you are using already minced ginger and garlic from a jar).

2. Transfer mixture to saucepan.

3. Stir in coconut milk and kecip manis.

4. Gently simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes or more, stirring often.

5. Let sauce cool. Correct seasoning, adding kecip manis or lime juice to taste.


Number of Servings: 20

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 20
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 61.4

• Total Fat: 3.9 g
• Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
• Sodium: 112.8 mg
• Total Carbs: 5.0 g
• Dietary Fiber: 0.7 g
• Protein: 2.1 g

February: Twisted Love (2 of 4)

Is it Friday again? I guess that means it's time for the next installment of our Monthly Movies. If you watched Harold and Maude last week then you are aware that in line with the romantic(?) theme these are not your typical love stories. But H & M was at least the story of a loving, sweet and mostly selfless romance. Now on to something completely different.

The Lion in Winter. The most oft-quoted movie in this household. I doubt if 3 days can go by without one of us quoting or referencing it in some way. Then we have to agree that we are very lucky to have found each other. 

The 1968 film is based on a play by James Goldman and stars (I should say, gloriously stars) Peter O'Toole and Katherine Hepburn with a very young Anthony Hopkins and Timothy Dalton in supporting roles. (There was also a 2003 made-for-TV version starring Glenn Close and Patrick Stewart. Skip it. Just awful!) 

It's kind of a "home for the holidays" story. Christmas at the court of Henry II of England in 1185, bringing together Henry and his estranged wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine and their three surviving sons: Richard (the Lionhearted), Geoffrey, and John (who would later be the king to sign the Magna Carta). Oh, and Henry's mistress Alys who is Richard's or John's or somebody's fiancee. And her little brother Philip, the King of France. 

Confusing? Yes, quite. 

Convoluted? Definitely. 

Dysfunctional? That's not quite the right word. I'd say toxic.

But for some reason, here in the woods, we LOVE this movie. The acting is--as I already said--glorious. The writing is just about flawless and the story, while not quite uplifting, is worth thinking about.

Curmudgeon first saw this while in high school and his teacher asked the class if they thought Henry and Eleanor really loved each other. Well, theirs is the "twisted love" that got this movie included this month, so watch with that in mind and come to your own conclusion.

Again, no rating issues, but this is an adult movie. I can almost guarantee that unless your children are clones of me (I saw this first when I was about nine and enjoyed it) your kids won't be entertained.

Coming next week: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Fun with Science

As a Christmas present for Happy, we bought an annual membership to our local Science Museum, the Center of Science and Industry or COSI. Its a great way to get out of the house on these dreary winter afternoons and Happy never gets tired of it. The "Little Kidspace" is the only bit of the museum we've seen yet, but it's well worth the membership. 

Even Punky has a great time! And Mom and Dad get a little break to breathe deeply and recover their sanity ;)

Why the Nicknames?

I've been getting a few raised eyebrows about our nicknames. At some point--I don't remember when or by who--I was given some advice that when posting to a public blog (especially if you're including photographs of yourself or children) you should be careful how much personal information you include. Names, birthdates etc should be avoided. Anyway, don't know if it's that big a deal, but I figured it was probably better to err on the side of safety.

February: Twisted Love (1 of 4)

February means Valentine's Day: the holiday designed to test and try our hearts. With that in mind, our movie theme for the month is TWISTED LOVE. Stories of love that just didn't pan out. To be fair, not all these stories are what I would call "twisted", but they're all unusual, heartrending, honest and strangely sweet.

First on the docket: Harold and Maude

I was first introduced to this movie by my college roommate who was (and still is) a woman of incredible taste with an eye for beauty. It's the story of Harold, a sad young loner obsessed with death. His world changes when he meets Maude, an optimistic 79 year-old equally obsessed with life.  Bud Cort is perfect as Harold and Ruth Gordon as Maude is also pretty great with Vivian Pickles (a riot!) as Harold's domineering mother. At least as important as the actors is the music accompanying them--all Cat Stevens classics. 

This film has become a cult-favorite. It is a beautiful story beautifully rendered and superbly executed. Enjoy!

note: no rating issues here, but there are several mildly-disturbing fake death scenes that young kids might get freaked out by.

Monthly Movies!!

One of our favorite things to do is watch movies together and we've been collecting "movie months" for some time now. We pick a theme and our four top pics to fill up each weekend of the month. Every Friday we'll post our pick for the week. Feel free to enjoy it with us (it would be fun to watch "together" don't you think?).

One note: our tastes may not be your taste :)
In particular, some of our film choices may not be "family friendly" and that's ok. We'll give you a warning if the rating may be iffy or if you should avoid turning it on with the kiddos around. These films wouldn't be our favorites if there wasn't something to love about them, but we understand that you may not be inclined to the same. We'll still love you even if you don't love our movies.

Cuties

They just get cuter every day. Today I heard suspicious noises coming from the jungle gym and went to investigate. HappyHappy was on top of Punkychunk giving her kisses while she squealed with delight. I guess she can handle her brother's roughness better than I thought!

And by the way, see that fire-truck puzzle in the foreground? Happy loves (and is capable) to do that puzzle. And by capable, I mean that he hands you the pieces then points to where in the picture you should put them. It's not an easy puzzle, so I'm pretty impressed that he's able to do that! I should add that as much as he likes putting it together, he likes chucking all the pieces across the room even more.

Early Birthday Present (and good news for choir!)

Yesterday I came home from teaching to find an early birthday present waiting for me:

I had mentioned to Curmudgeon the other day how nice it would be to have our piano tuned again and voila--wish granted. I've got awesome in-laws who really take good care of us :). Now it will be slightly less embarrassing to host church choir practices at our house. The choir members and accompanists have been suffering through some pretty sour notes for a few months now.