Change of Location

Hey ya'll!

I've started a new blog over on Wordpress because, well, it's prettier than blogger is. Check it out and update your bookmarks and RSS feeds. :)

Hi

I'm hoping to get this blog up and running again now that I have finally finished college. Here's a taste of what's to come!

Witch's Brew

I'm helping plan to the menu for a Halloween bash this year. I'm really pushing for this spooky witches brew that was featured in the October 2009 issue of Martha Stewart Living. Doesn't it just look amazing?

It's a green curry coconut soup, and I feel like it really captures the creepiness of the holiday while still looking delicious. Taste is something that seems to be sacrificed way too frequently in Halloween cuisine. I'm hoping to see more recipes like this in the future.

Halloweeners

Halloween was not one of my favorite holidays as a kid. My mom would always make me these amazing, creative, homemade costumes and I hated them. I just wanted to fit in with all the little girls in crappy, store-bought polyester princess costumes. One year I had this awesome spider costume. Made of black felt, it had six false legs (three on each side) that were connected to each other with fishing line. The top leg on either side had an elastic band that went around my arms. When I moved them, the legs moved as well. The costume was undoubtedly one of the best I'll ever have, probably one of the best in the history of all costumes, but my youthful insecurity kept me from fully enjoying and appreciating its weirdness. Thankfully, as I've grown, I've learned to accept and enjoy weirdness in costumes, in myself, and as I've done so I've learned how to enjoy Halloween.

I am really looking forward to Halloween this year, as it is on a Saturday. My entire weekend is already filling up. The night of Friday the 30th the UO Cultural Forum is organizing a free concert by Natalie Portman's Shaved Head. Nate is a pretty big fan of NPSH because they have a song titled "Beard Lust". He might have some other reasons he likes them but I think it is mostly just that they share his appreciation of a good beard. Here's a fan video for "Beard Lust".



I'm not holding my breath that this concert will take place after the disastrous cancellation of the Passion Pit concert earlier this month, but I'm hopeful that this concert will happen and that it will be good. NPSH will be a free concert and open to the public, so if you are in the Eugene area on Friday the 30th, you should go. It will be on the U of O campus in the EMU ballroom.

Saturday night I will be going to a costume party, where I am hoping to influence the DJ with my wiles until he/she plays some songs by Dead Man's Bones. I posted this video on facebook a few days ago, but I feel like it deserves to be posted again.



Dead Man's Bones is made up of Zach Shields and Ryan Gosling (yup, of The Notebook and Lars and the Real Girl fame). The band was created to showcase their mutual love of the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland and Doo Wop music. Some of the songs are spookier, and thus more suited for Halloween, than others, but I enjoy them all. I will definitely be playing "My Body's a Zombie for You" at my bash this year. In fact, I'll probably just put the album on repeat.

One last thing I would recommend that you check out before October 31st rolls around is this new collection of scary stories titled Half Minute Horrors. It features short stories from a variety of well-known authors and artists, including Neil Gaiman, Lemony Snicket and (shout out to my childhood) R.L. Stine. You can get a glimpse of the insides of the book at the link. It is currently only $9.35 on Amazon.com, and part of the proceeds go to an organization that gives books to children. I'll be picking up a copy when I have a chance.

America is okay I guess sometimes

I'm always looking for good, regularly updated web comics to read. Something about cheesy puns and wacom tablet drawings just tickles my fancy, I guess. Right now, my favorite comic has to be Pictures for Sad Children. It's drawn by some guy named John Campbell. I don't know anything about him besides that he draws this comic. I've been reading it for a while now, although I don't remember how long. Maybe a year. I don't know.

Links to some of my favorite comics from Mr. John Campbell:

• One about cavemen
• One about a stray kitten
• One about a themed cafe
• One about parenting

Something about his combination of dry humor and depressing truth just gets me. I guess I love this comic because, when I read it, I never know whether to laugh or to weep. Also, feel free to buy me his book (autographed please) and/or this t-shirt.

If you don't already read it, click on over to Pictures for Sad Children, dang it. Also, if you have recommendations for web comics I should add to my RSS reader, leave a comment!

Beer Pairing Resource

Oh my lord, this blog has been neglected. Maybe that will change, maybe it won't. For now, here is what appears to be a great resource to use to decide what beer will pair best with tonight's (or any night's) meal. Check out the Beer Sommelier on GreatBrewers.com! I will definitely be referring to it often...

Hot and Sour Soup

I've been super swamped with school and the blog has been incredibly neglected. I hope to remedy this over spring break, but for the time being, here is a recipe for hot and sour soup that I modified and made for dinner tonight. I had tried making the original recipe a while back, which was considerably more complicated and called for some really hard to find ingredients. It also called for dried mushrooms, which it turns out I am not a very big fan of. I decided hot and sour could be done better and easier with fresh mushrooms and ingredients you can find at any supermarket. So here is my recipe, which I think is easy, delicious and it's vegetarian!

Ingredients:

• 6 cups water
• 1 small can of bamboo shoots, sliced thinly
• 1 and 1/2 cup sliced small mushrooms (white button or crimini)
  
• tofu (amount is up to you, 1/2 of a block should be enough), cubed
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp white vinegar
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp corn starch dissolved in about 1/3 cup water
• 1 egg, beaten
  
• White pepper and chili oil to taste

Bring the water to a boil in a medium sized sauce pan. Add bamboo shoots and mushrooms. Stir, and add tofu. Return to a boil. Add salt, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar and oil. Let simmer for a minute, and adjust seasonings to taste.

Stir the cornstarch and water, then add to pan, stirring constantly. Return to a boil, then remove from heat. Slowly pour beaten egg while stirring in one direction. Add white pepper and chili oil to taste.