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Posts tagged ‘spicy’

Feb 28

Squash you with a smart ass re-Tortilla Soup

squashtortillasoup (14)Looks like my hubris finally caught up to me and I am sick as a damn dog.  It was only a matter of time really.  I have been literally attacked by bugs on every front.  My roommate was sick, my coworkers were sick, friends or friends of friends were sick….  You get the picture.  Plus I’m still not convinced it wasn’t the little kid who sneezed on me at the grocery store.  Her mother didn’t say a damn thing about covering your mouth when you do that and I was not amused.  I politely told the little girl, and I’m good with kids so it was not in a critical tone I swear—I’m freaking Mary Poppins okay, and not in her terrifying mode—but the mother shot me a nasty look for it.  Ugh.  Parents learn to parent please.  Oh and I take public transit which is germ-a-palooza even when it isn’t flu season.  Basically riding BART is like plunging yourself into an overrun petri dish of disease but I love how useful it is for getting to work.

squashtortillasoup (15)Stop me if I get to ranty but there is one very big downside I have found to using BART aside from the fact that it’s a fertile breeding ground for a zombie outbreak.  I love it because I get to read rather than fight traffic and thus keep my blood pressure low.  I hate it because instead of horns and harried drivers bothering me, instead I am subjected to an even worse crime of transit.  A question: a simple, and probably to some people, unassuming question.

“What are you reading?”

ARGH.

I hate that question.  I hate it with a passion.  You know why?  Anyone who genuinely loves books is not going to ask a stranger who is in the middle of reading, what they are reading.  Why?  Well two reasons: 1) this insolent intruder, were he a true bibliophile, would know how disruptive it is to be interrupted and removed from the world you are currently immersed in and 2) this interrupting interloper would simply READ the title of the book you are holding.   Aha!  But what if you are using an e-reader?  Then rule number 2 doesn’t apply.  Okay smart ass, you’re right it doesn’t, but you know what I’ve noticed?  No one asks me what I’m reading when I have an e-reader open.  It’s almost like if I’m using a Kindle then clearly it’s serious business but if I go low-tech, really I’m just hoping that this bundle of carbon printed words will serve as a prop for some super suave man to pick me up with his oh too original line: so what are you reading?squashtortillasoup (16)

Listen bub, my book is not a prop.  I’m actually reading it.  See before Kindle came out we had to buy the actual physical books.  I happen to own a lot of them, many still unread because I am constantly outpacing myself with what I can read versus what I discover I want to read.  I’m not about to suddenly re-buy all of them just so I can use an e-reader for everything.  In fact several books are still much cheaper to buy in their physical form rather than electronic and I am ultimately ruled by money when it comes to my consumerist tendencies.

squashtortillasoup (3)Anyway it’s always men who interrupt me and it’s always with the intent on their part to start a discussion with me.  Usually I respond with a smart ass quip that makes them stop but occasionally that gets taken as an invitation to continue to harass me.  Why?  Why?  I know I’m not the only woman to get this either—and men who read you’ve probably been interrupted too at some point.  How do you deal with it?  What do you say?  I actually think it could be fun to keep a list of responses to this question that plagues bookworms across the globe so leave any you have in the comments.  The one I most remember enjoying in my sadist way was when an older man on the train had been attempting to talk to a number of ladies around me.  When his attentions turned to me and I heard the inevitable question “So whatcha reading” I lowered my book, which was blatantly displayed in such a way that you couldn’t possibly miss the title, and I put on feigned shock.  “Oh my god, I’m reading?  How did that happen?”  Then I closed it got up and walked to the back of the train.  I know I shouldn’t be bitchy to a stranger but I just wanted to get away so I did my best to squash his attention with a smart ass retort.

And now back to bed.  I’m probably going to miss work tomorrow because this sinus infection is not looking promising.  I’ll be brewing up some Jewish Penicillin to get myself healthy but I’ve had this soup on hand in the past as well and it’s pretty delicious with some heat to clear those nasal passages.  Ideally you shouldn’t eat dairy either when you’re sick but sometimes you need something a little comforting and all things considered, this soup isn’t excessively cheesy.  It does satisfy that desire for comfort though because it tastes like a big bowl of nachos.  A warm, soothing bowl of nachos.  Mmmmm.

Butternut Squash Tortilla Soup

Adapted from The New England Soup Factory Cookbook Read more

Feb 12

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Think Thin Tuesday: Horny as a Goat Tacos

It’s coming up on Valentine’s Day and that means two things: flowers and chocolate.  Past that it usually means an elaborate meal out with your honey that costs tons of money and usually leaves you full to the point of bursting.  Valentine’s day is the ultimate post-New Year’s diet trap for anyone trying to stay on track, or maybe get back on track, with a diet resolution.  Some of you might be ready to splurge on a nice fancy dinner after working hard the last 6 weeks since turning the corner on the fatty food trilogy that is Halloween-Thanksgiving-Christmas.  Some of you though, maybe haven’t been keeping it together so well and for you the thought of Valentine’s Day is “oh god here comes another holiday where I ‘m going to stuff my face and there’s going to be chocolate EVERYWHERE for days.”

That’s a big part of the problem with these holidays isn’t it?  If it were simply a single day out of  a month to celebrate that would be one thing.   Instead, in the wake of our consumerist culture and social obligations, these events really seem to stretch on for a week—at least!  There are office parties, friends parties, festivals, special events, shows, shopping deals and last but certainly not the last—the post-holiday clearance sale.   Halloween and Valentine’s Day definitely see weeks of lingering chocolates marked down 50% or more in drugstore bins nationwide and it can be so hard to resist a discount chocolate santa.  Soon enough this single holiday to reward yourself has turned into a smorgasbord that has undone the last month of hellish sacrifice and those five pounds just waddled back with their smiling, adiposian faces.

For someone like say, my mom, it’s always been a struggle.  My step-dad took a few years to learn that she really, truly does NOT want him to buy her chocolates on Valentine ’s Day.  Now what she means by this isn’t so much literally “I don’t want chocolates” but a general “I don’t want to be tempted by sweets or decadent meals, I’m trying to be good and stay on my diet and maintain willpower this year.”  I will always remember the infamous fortune cookie incident that I think finally hit home the request she makes year after year.  See my mom has unfortunately always struggled with her weight.  I have seen her on a perpetual diet since the day I was birthed into the world.  This is in part because she’s always had to work with a long commute and when she was a single mom forget it.  There was no time to exercise.  She also struggles with a metabolism problem that makes it harder for her to maintain a healthy figure and while many people I’ve known use that as an excuse, she legitimately does eat well and gain weight.  Carbs are not her friend even in the best of times.  So my mom routinely asks that for Valentine’s Day we avoid buying her chocolates.  My stepdad interpreted this after several years of buying chocolates anyway by buying my mom a GIGANTIC FORTUNE COOKIE that had been dipped in a candy shell.  We’re talking the size of a human head gigantic.  The rationale?  Well it wasn’t chocolate.  Cue the drama.  Anyway they laugh about it now, at least I hope they do, and in the years since he only buys my mom sugar free chocolates and only when she asks.  Not only does this help her manage her weight, but it demonstrates that he supports her efforts which makes her happy.

So if your honey is trying to stay good this year, but you want to still have a romantic meal, do yourself a favor and stay home.  Cook.  It’s easy and gives you complete control over the nutritional content of your food.  Plus it means so much when a meal is made for you by someone who loves you and men—if you are the one planning the menu get ready to be the talk of the town.  Every lady loves to brag when her man cooks for her and does it well.  So stay home and try this recipe that is high on flavor and low on guilt.  It’s got everything you could want: tortillas, cheese, red meat and pure deliciousness.  Oh and never fear, if you are looking for something completely sinful, I’ll be sharing several of those recipes in the days to come.

Goat meat is extremely lean, to the point that when it’s prepared improperly it can be gamey and unpleasant but when prepared correctly it has a very sweet and tender flavor.  That sweetness will get a boost from the citrus marinade and the meat will be perfectly cooked when you slice it thin and pan sear it just to barely cook.  The best part is that goat’s meat is lower in both fat and cholesterol than beef—in fact it’s lower in fat and cholesterol than chicken.  Meanwhile it’s almost double the iron content so you’re getting all the benefits of eating meat and reducing the bad.  Concerned about growth hormones?  Goat meat isn’t approved for hormone use so you don’t even have to worry about reading the package.  Not only will you steal your honey’s heart, you’ll be protecting it so that you can celebrate this holiday together 50 years down the road and feel just as young as you do today.

Foodies will be happy and delighted by the exotic element of this dish.  If your valentine is red-meating loving American he/she will love it too.  Buy some whole-wheat, low carb and high fiber wraps and you can be happy knowing that you are getting healthsome whole grains.  Finally a dollop of salted crème fraiche will add decadence and tang.  Why are these called horny as a goat tacos?  Well I don’t know about you but there are certain other things I associate with Valentine’s day.  Personally I can’t get very ardent about amorous activity when my stomach is weighing me down.  Plus, yes I’m being a girl here, but I don’t feel sexy after a super fat-laden meal.  Pair these with a nice salad, some strawberries and cinnamon spiced cream and a good Spanish wine and you will have a Latin meal that seduces through the stomach without weighing it down thus leaving room for *ahem* dessert.

Horny Goat Tacos

An Olivia Original Read more

Oct 2

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Taste my Pirate Paddy (Below Deck)

We interrupt this week’s Think Thin Tuesday ( to be resumed next week or postpone  to Thursday, haven’t decided yet) to bring you this breaking announcement: The Guild Season 6 premieres today! In fact the new episode may be up by the time this blog gets published.  Be sure to check Geek and Sundry today and you might even catch a glimpse of yours truly in a certain establishing shot….

I wanted to write about how The Guild is responsible for connecting me with some of the best friends I’ve ever had.  I also wanted to dedicate a recipe to the precise line of the show that brought these people to my life: “Taste my Pirate Paddy” Yes those are the words that set into motion the finding of my karass.  I’ve written about this before but I guess I just really wanted to talk about it in detail, why it means so much to me, with the premiere coming out today.

I had written an entirely long piece while crafting this post about the history of my life as it pertained to friendships and it was rather intensely personal and far too long for a single entry.  I’ll share eventually but decided that it wasn’t quite the tone I wanted here. Basically the conclusion of that story is my problem isn’t so much finding people to be friends with—it’s in the keeping of them.

I have this theory about sitcoms and romantic comedies, a theory that the Guild ties into rather nicely, about how the real draw to these shows isn’t the romances or the personal development of a character.  The thing we as viewers, as people, romanticize most about shows like “The Guild” or say “How I Met Your Mother” are the friendships.  Yes finding true love, finding yourself, these are great things we want in our lives but they are really quite easy compared to finding that circle of friends that we can having a standing date with at the pub or coffee shop.  I mean do I really need to argue my point more considering one of the most successful, long running sitcoms was “Friends”?  Yes it had the running conflict around romantic relationships but that wasn’t the draw was it?  It was the concept that 5 people could find each other and form these intimate, unbreakable platonic bonds.

Seeing Syd Sherman grow, seeing all of the Knights of Good grow, and  watching their crazy antics is awesome, but the heart of the show is the entity that is the Guild itself.  No matter how some characters may try to avoid it **coughTinkcough** it’s the friendship that is at the heart of it all—and what I think is the real Holy Grail I’m always searching for.

The friendships formed in these shows aren’t the “have coffees every 5 months and talk about the weather” sorts of bonds.  They are very romantic and intimate in nature—the sort of people who you can be around every day, sit with comfortably in silence and read each other’s thoughts.  If that’s something that we struggle to find in a single partner, as the quest for love demonstrates we often do, of course it’s that much harder to find several like-minded individuals who can share these things.  If a marriage takes work, these kinds of friendships must take even more and indeed even when we find them, how often do they fall apart?  How many married couples do you know that wind up being each other’s best friends not just because they are, but because they lose touch with everyone else?

I can count on one hand the number of really good friendships I’ve got that have lasted longer than a year or two—that have been more than just a result of loneliness and proximity.  I would need probably all my fingers and toes to tell you how many people/groups of people I’ve grown away from.  My fondest hope is that this eclectic group I’ve wrangled for myself breaks the mold.  I would consider myself extremely lucky were that the case and I’m in the process of doing everything I can (including looking into moving to LA to be nearer many of them) to keep that.

The opportunity to be an Extra back on season 5, I’m in an array of scenes that relate to the infamous line that inspired my recipe today, was never something I imagined would be this influential on me.  All I really went into it with was that geeky fangirl hope I’d get to hang out a bit with Felicia Day.  Maybe a day dream or two of some sort of internet stardom, not gonna lie.  That obviously didn’t happen but instead I got something I never even thought was going to happen: I found that idealized group of friends. It’s magical to me that a show like The Guild, which hey, you do realize the title is all about a group of people coming together and forming a bond, may have finally brought me this same joy.  They just might be “the one(s)” if you will.   There will be conflict, fighting, tears and I’m sure we’ll lose a few in our band along the way.  Still there’s something uniquely special to this group…something I’ve been working to identify and will probably bore you about in another sappy blog post. There is a quality to the friendships on “The Guild” that echoes in the group I’ve found, but since I’ve already written two pages now, I think we’ve reached a good ending point today don’t you?  I’ll wrap up this sappy reflection with the hope that I’m not proven wrong about this gang and now share with you the recipe I lured you in with at the start.

This here be the most sea worthy burger ye will find on any ocean!  Cheeseybeards is home to a fine array of grub fit for a Pirate, but none quite so favored by me as the “Below Decks Burger” – a burger featuring a delicious infusion of the Caribbean waters that Pirates love.  The beef is seasoned with Jamaican spices, topped with cheese, rum-candied onions and a spicy mayo.  I figured any burger that mentions going “below deck” ought to have an alcoholic component but don’t fear, this menu item is child appropriate since all the booze cooks out while the onions soak up all the flavor.  Just be careful: these are addictive and if you might find that all the Sailor Jerry gets used up making round after round of these delicious Pirate Paddies—and you can only hope that the crew is too full to be wonder “Why is the rum gone?”

Below Decks Burger
an Olivia Original inspired by “the Guild” Read more

Aug 21

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Think Thin Tuesday: My Top 5 Cheap & Healthy Convenience Foods

Someone was asking me the other day to write some top 5 lists and to share more about healthy things I do/eat.  I’ve noticed a real “get healthy” trend this summer amongst friends, coworkers, neighbors…I’m starting to think it’s people in general that are trying to get healthier.  This pleases me to no end.  It could just be that bathing suit season spurs folk into thinking about trimming the waistline but I’m hoping that there is a real push back happening in American culture.  Never has a nation been so well fed and yet so malnourished.   The diatribe on how we got here is boring and my soap box is away today so instead let’s just push ahead and figure out where to go from here.  No instead I’m gonna give you five awesome products AND a recipe for an easy condiment you can make with common ingredients to compliment some of your purchases.

Getting healthy is hard.  It requires a serious commitment of time, money or both.  Healthy food is far too expensive in cash and time.  A big part of the reason we have gotten so fat is the proliferation of junk convenience food.  With two parent households where both work who has time to think about preparing food, getting the right nutrients and maintaining the right caloric balance? Not everyone has time, or can make the time, to cook.  Some of you might just want things that you can buy, have on hand and eat pre-made.  Sometimes baking your own kale chips for snacking just isn’t practical.   Nothing wrong with that.  I have a number of packaged, delicious foods I love to buy but a number of them are far from cheap.  As a single girl in her 20’s I can afford to spend a little more on healthy items that I want in my diet but I know $4 bottles of fermented vegetable juice aren’t practical for families on budgets.  I do want to introduce some of these exotic items to you, my dear reader, but slowly so as not to shock your system.  Today I am only focusing on foods that I’m sure you can find at local grocery stores or Costco.  Being in California I’m a bit spoiled by a slight cultural bias toward healthy foods.  As such I recognize my Costco might stock some items unfamiliar to other regions.   So I’m even going to exclude what seem to be specialty or rarer items.

You’ll notice one thing other thing…there’s no meat mentioned here.  Why?  Basically it comes down to you can’t eat your cake and have it too.  Unfortunately at this time there is no way to purchase healthy meat, raised on grass and/or the *correct* grains, free of antibiotics that is also low in cost, pre-cooked and nationally available.  I have a ton of great meat sources…but this list is designed to be as accessible as possible.  I am not advocating a vegetarian lifestyle I just can’t bring myself to recommend any meat products that aren’t good for you, the environment and the animals themselves.  Don’t worry though.  If you enjoy this kind of information I’ll do a Top 5 Meat Eaters List of healthy products.  Maybe even a top 10 if I’m feeling particularly Carnivorous that day.

Top 5 “Healthful” prepared foods that won’t break the bank.

  1. Milton’s Multi-Grain Bread – I figured I should start with a household staple and for many families that’s sliced bread.  Nothing beats the convenience of a sandwich.  PB&J is a classic staple of the American grade school student.  Such a shame that the mechanism of delivery, classic white bread, has absolutely no value to your diet.  Instead try to amp up the nutrition with whole grain and nut breads.  It’s a good way to work in extra protein, fiber and heart healthy fats.  Milton’s isn’t the best multi grain seed bread on the market but I do believe it’s the most widely distributed and it has the bonus of tasting damn good.  You’ll get important minerals and feel far more satisfied if you use this for any sandwich.

***Honorable Mention: Alpine Valley organic multi grain with Omega-3 only distributed in UT, NV, CA, NM and TX this bread is my top choice from what I’ve seen offered at mega-marts.  It’s only about 70-80 calories a slice compared to Milton at 110 and it is dense, sweet and oh so delicious.  It will fill you up and leave you so satisfied you won’t believe it’s healthy.  The only problem being that it’s not distributed outside a few states and so it’s only an HM rather than my number 1 on the list.  I really hope this changes….

  1. Morningstar Veggie Burgers : since I can’t bring myself to recommend sub-par meat, I’m going to give you the next best thing.  Veggie burgers have come a long way over the years and these are actually really delicious.  I would eat them just because I enjoy the flavor but thank my healthy stars these are good for me too!  These veggie burgers can be bought in bulk and microwaved directly out of the frozen box if you need to.  Of course they taste better grilled but hey, sometimes you only have 2 minutes to spare right?  The original veggie burger is around 110 calories, with 10 grams of protein, high in fiber and low in fat.  The even better part?  Morningstar has a huge line of varieties and flavors.  They almost all range in the 100-200 calories mark, some going as high as 19 grams of protein and all at a fat reduction of 50-70% than your classic fast food burger.  Give it a try and I promise you’ll be surprised.
  1. Unsweetend Vanilla Almond Milk: Regular ol’ cows milk is delicious but again, if you are pinching pennies, odds are you can’t afford stuff from well fed cows and you really aren’t doing yourself any nutritional favors buying crap from factory farmed Holsteins.  Almond milk is a great substitution in your diet.  Why?  It’s got an equivalent amount of calcium and as a bonus it is high in range of additional vitamins and minerals…stuff you won’t get out of milk from a cow raised on anything other than healthy grasses.  It’s low in fat and what fats it does contain are heart healthy fats.  On top of all that 1 cup serving is only 35-45 calories (depending on the brand) compared to Skim Milk at 100 calories.  While this list is more focused on nutrition than weight loss I didn’t want to neglect that added bonus for those of us looking to reduce a little belly fat in addition to getting healthier.  The only downside?  Well almond milk is pretty pathetic in the protein department however that’s not an area where most american diets are lacking.  Personally I like to use it for the liquid base of an after-workout protein shake so I’m not really all that concerned.  Bottom line: if you are getting all your protein from cow’s milk, don’t switch to almond.  If like any blue-blooded american you eat protein at breakfast, second breakfast, lunch, dinner…you can make the switch to this otherwise healthier alternative with little fear.
  1. Bare Naked Baked Apple Chips – Mmmmmmm.  I’ve mentioned these before but I couldn’t resist bringing them to my list.  As a snack food these are the tops.  A serving is at least half the calories as any storebrand potato chip.  On the nutrient front?  Let’s see: empty carbohydrates from potatoes fried in fat versus fiber, vitamins, gluten free, fat free snackums.  Do I really even need to extol their virtues further?  Okay how about this.  Part of getting healthy means kicking bad habits that keep us unhealthy.  Potato chips are so dangerous in part because they are made to keep us eating.  The high levels of sodium and low fiber content mean you constantly crave more without feeling full.  These apple chips do the exact opposite.  While they contain some sugar they also have fiber and zero salt so you wind up feeling full.  While it’s easy to keep eating any snack item mindlessly, your body isn’t going to be driven by a feedback loop to continue craving these when you close the bag.  Bonus these come in a cinnamon apple flavor that really does taste like crunchy, healthy little apple pie bites but still no added sugars!
  1. Kashi Chewy Granola Bars – The penultimate convenience food are snack bars and yet they are so often unhealthy.  I get frustrated that almost anything I pick up is guaranteed to be either very high in calories or very low in nutrition.  Usually the 90 calorie bars are also really un-filling and you wind up needing to eat something else shortly thereafter which hardly makes for a successful snack.  The higher calorie bars are meant to be meal replacers but most people don’t treat them that way.  Look if you are a marathon runner or skipping lunch today, a Luna/Cliff/Whathaveyou bar is a great inclusion in your diet.  If you want something healthy to eat in between your usual three meals a day as a snack, at 210-320 calorie bar “nutrition bar” isn’t doing you any good.  Enter the Kashi chewy granola bar.  Depending on the flavor you get, the calorie content ranges from 120 to 140…far more in line with a snack food.  Kashi has a variety of products but I think the “chewy granola” bar line is the superior snack.  They are actually lower in calories than the “goleans” and higher in nutrition.  They’ve got fiber from whole grains, long term energy benefits from proteins and good fats in the nuts and just enough sugar to be delicious and add some energy but not enough to feel guilty about.  Best of all, I can eat these slowly and get some satisfaction out of it.  Most 90 calorie “snack brownies” are inhaled in two seconds and they taste so boring that it’s hardly worth it at all.  Costco sells the trail mix variety of these in bulk for me.  Bonus: If you eat one of these as a mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack, you’ll find that you’re less hungry when meal time rolls around.

If you decide to go out and buy yourself those veggie burgers but don’t know what to put on them, or want to liven up a sandwich on some of that newfangled seed bread I recommended, then look on a little further.  I’m not going to conclude this without a recipe!  Perish the thought.  Here’s a great condiment you can make using cheap ingredients, stuff you probably got as a housewarming gift and never used up, and that you can keep in the fridge for ages.

Spicy Oregano ChimiChurri Sauce

from Bon Apetit Magazine August 2012 Read more

Aug 17

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SciFriday: Delicious RIB-ulations of a Zombie rising

You will be moaning by the end of this post. I don’t know if it will be out of agony at some bad punning or hunger but it’s gonna happen. I’m also doing my best to be as spoiler free as possible because I want you to go out, read these books and get the same “OH MY GOD” experiences I did. Especially at the end of the second book. Most terrifying, zombie infecting vector ever imagined. I will have nightmares for years….

Deadline: Part 2 of the Newsflesh Trilogy written by Mira Grant (aka Seanan McGuire) is the third book in my Hugo Award challenge. It’s also a fucking amazing, not-so-typical telling of your typical Zombie Apocolypse. I went into this moaning that as a sequel, I actually had two books to read. The first in the series being called “Feed” and I thought oh what a corny title for a zombie novel. I was quite pleased to discover that the title was far cleverer than I originally estimated. How is that? These stories follow the trials and tribulations of a brother-sister team of bloggers in a world where society managed not to crumble despite the constant threat from swarms of the undead. Feed is actually a clever reference to RSS in a world where blogged news media is as essential to life as any food stuffs.

It didn’t take long for me to get hooked.

Since the nominee is a sequel I feel like I should review the series as it stands up until that installment for my review. I have in fact read all three books because Deadline ends with the most insane cliffhanger.  I’m going to avoid bringing the conclusion, and any feelings it may have stirred, into this review.  Well I’m going to try, anyway here it goes the good. the bad, the moan-y.

The Newsflesh world is one where zombies are extremely dangerous but haven’t plunged the society back into the dark ages. We still have a functioning government, infrastructure, electricity and above all else, the internet. Humankind is down but it’s not out and people live what amounts to relatively normal lives. Our main characters are Georgia and Shaun Mason, adopted siblings who spend their days chasing zombies around the California coastline for their blog site. Shaun is an “Irwin” a job title that involves poking dead things with sticks and seeing what happens. Georgia, who prefers the more masculine, George, is a “Newsie” who spends most of her time reporting on factual events, telling the hard truth and the rest of the time reigning in her brother. They work closely with a third character who names herself Buffy (yes after the show, be still my heart) because she’s a 90 pound, blonde cheerleader type but with enough technical genius to architect her own Matrix. The three begin “Feed’ embarking on the news story of a lifetime as they follow a political candidate around the country on his campaign trail, live blogging and fighting zombies along the way. What unfolds over the course of the trilogy is a web of government conspiracy, squishy zombie action and more geeky in-jokes to squee about than you could imagine.

“This is Shaun Mason activating security protocol Campbell. The bridge is out, the trees are coming, and I’m pretty sure my hand is evil. Now gimme some sugar, baby.”

Mahir looked at me with undisguised confusion. “What the fuck was all that about?”

“Single-use phone. I wanted to make sure I wouldn’t activate it by mistake.” – Deadline

In fact Mira has recently released a novella set in the Newsflesh universe set during the beginning of the zombie uprising smack dab in the middle of Comic Con. The title of this particular work just happens to be: “The Last Stand of the California Browncoats” Yeah you can bet your jayne hat that’s on my shortlist of things to read next.

Another big part of what makes these stories so great is the heavy emphasis on bloggers. Newsflesh really captures the essence of the phrase “You can’t stop the signal” and it gives your typical zombie story a completely new flavor and direction.  We don’t often get a world where people can still stream funny cat videos while avoiding having their flesh torn to pieces.  In fact the only reason the human race survived the initial uprising was because a lone doctor took to his daughter’s blog to release knowledge of the zombie virus (in this world a hybrid between a cure for cancer and the common cold) to the general populace. As such each chapter is punctuated by a blog entry from one of the characters in the story. Sometimes it’s an unpublished diary entry, a news post from a “Newsie”, retelling from an “Irwin” about wrestling a zombie bear, or a poem from the third branch of any blog crew known as the “Fictionals”. These little tidbits add to the story by keeping the blogging concept present even as the chapters are more action driven.

Mira’s insight into the state of California enriches the verse as well. I particularly loved and jotted down a note about this line: California is essentially a bunch of smaller states held together by political connections, water rights and the stubborn refusal of any segment to cede the cash-cow name “California” to any of the others. — Feed

California natives or long term residents will find her depictions of Oakland, Santa Cruz and Sacramento spot on and hilarious. Once again I found that like “Embassytown” and “Among Others”, this Hugo Award nominee holds quite a bit of “oh my god, it’s like it was written just for me” elements to it. I’m starting to feel a little paranoid about the nomination committee actually….

Speaking of paranoia let’s get back to the government conspiracy aspect. Give me a good scifi story where people in power are abusing it and I’m there.  I’m not going to spoil much but can I just say this: I have never thought of using zombies as a terrorist weapon until I read these books. When that part happened I just sat back and said “Damn.” My evil genius was crushed to have not thought of it first. What can I say? I like my shiny aluminum hat thankyouverymuch. Tying nicely into my love of conspiracy, these books give governments that like to use fear for control a giant “Fuck You”.   As I wrote in the past few weeks…fuck fear and fuck the people who would use it to control and abuse you.

“The trouble with the news is simple: People, especially ones on the ends of the power spectrum, like it when you’re afraid. The people who have the power want you scared. They want you walking around paralyzed by the notion that you could die at any moment. There’s always something to be afraid of. It used to be terrorists. Now it’s zombies.
What does this have to do with the news? This: The truth isn’t scary. Not when you understand it, not when you understand the repercussions of it, and not when you aren’t worried that something’s being kept from you. The truth is only scary when you think part of it might be missing. And those people? They like it when you’re scared. So they do their best to sit on the truth, to sensationalize the truth, to filter the truth in ways that make it something you can be afraid of.
If we didn’t have to fear the truths we didn’t hear, we’d lose the need to fear the ones we did. People should consider that.” — Feed

The first book, “Feed”, does a great job setting this trilogy up and initially I was describing these books as great summer pool reading. They aren’t insightful or deep in the artsy, “I’d like to thank the academy” kind of way my last two reviews were. What they are is riveting, accessible, clever and with a level of philosophy that’s right on target with my stance on life. In other words, I don’t think these are the “Oscar” winning books but they are akin to the box-office smashes that never get enough credit for being thought provoking because we too often assume works of great meaning can’t also be generically entertaining. I liked The King’s Speech as much as the next person, but you know what I’m going to be watching far more often over the next decade? Dark Knight and while it had tons of explosions it also had some deep psychological shit.  I’m just saying…..

“Deadline” picks up where the first novel left off and it’s not a pretty place. The main cast is dealing with the aftermath of uncovering what was only the beginning of a pretty nasty set of truths. Where George narrated the first book, brother Shaun picks up in the second. This gives the second book a fresh spin and well, Shaun has got some issues by the time this happens. I’m not going to tell you what they are since that would spoil a lot, but it’s pretty fascinating to read from his POV. While the sequel tends to meander a bit more, I think it’s more compelling a read than the first. Like many great sequels it gets a lot darker, a lot more complicated and has the benefit of established background to work off of.

Sadly there are also a few minor problems. The second book does have some slow points. The characters spend a lot of time having to figure out what to do next, where to go and it can seem a little less action driven than the original. This is because by the time you’ve reached this level of the story, the writer has to begin to reveal the man behind the curtain and that involves more talking than zombie killing. Plus the zombies, while terrifying, are obviously not the ultimate big bad. The conspiracy is and conspiracy always means people talking. The upside is that at no point does the telling of it get boring. Shaun is a perfect choice for the first person narrative and Mira’s humor keeps the banter engaging.

I glanced to Becks “Isn’t this the part where you should run screaming?”

“Nah” she said “I’ve got no problem with octopuses. It’s bugs and spiders I don’t like. Octopuses are cute, in their own “nature did a lot of drugs” sort of way.”

“Girls are fucking weird.” — Deadline

If you really wanted me to criticize these books, the one thing that did get on my nerves is something I find often find annoying about serials: the repetition of information. As someone who reads quickly and retains information well, I always found it annoying when authors would need to reestablish things from past books as though I’d forgotten or hadn’t bothered to pick up the first installment. I already know that Darth Vader is Luke’s father, I don’t need a blow by blow recap every time you publish the next part of the sequence. As such I found the constant reminders of things past a bit annoying. This isn’t unique to the books mind you and I find it happens quite frequently in serial novels. The other kind of repetitive crutch is how often George asks for a Coke and Shaun will mention wanting a cup of coffee. It’s quite genuinely mentioned at a rate of what seems like every 5 pages. I want to know when, in the zombie chasing hell they live in, these people pee.

No seriously. If you asked me one thing I’ll remember from these books when I’m a senile bat in my cyber-nursing home, it’s that Georgia Mason always has a can of coca-cola in her hand and Shaun Mason is always seeking out his next cuppa joe. Initially it was annoying but I moved on and came to embrace and be amused by it. If these books are ever turned into a film franchise I think they would do extremely well in that regard. In fact I’m convinced someone must be trying to buy the rights to make the movies right now. It’s too much of a zombie loving time not to make these a film. Hey Mira: keep me in mind when you’re casting for Buffy would ya? Anyway back to the coke thing…my point is, if these books are ever made into a movie, you could turn George’s requests for a Coca Cola into a drinking game. Only problem is that by the end of the second film you’d have enough alcohol to kill your liver and then your zombified corpse would chew off the face of that lame sober friend who hangs out at every party.

The upside to the Coke thing? It inspired a recipe for the most amazing Coca Cola glazed Baby Back Ribs ever made. I mean what screams Zombie more than a rack of ribs right? It came to me while I read the books and I knew I had to develop the recipe myself so this is an Olivia Original. The best part? Mira (or rather Seanan) was at Comic Con this year and she signed my recipe inspired by the books. Oh look here’s a photo of my crazed fangirl grin and the original scribble sheet now signed and laminated by one of my now favorite authors. The ribs are seriously one of my favorite recipes now of all time. Not your traditional BBQ flavor mind you. I tried to use spices that would be reminiscent of what is thought to be present in the secret recipe still held as a corporate trade secret. I also used actual Coca Cola in my braising liquid. The flavor had an almost indian quality to it and as such my mother especially loved these. So please enjoy this Olivia Original for SciFriday and PLEASE read these books. I’m definitely ranking the Newsflesh trilogy as the Hugo Nominee I would be most likely to recommend because I think they are both wonderfully written and more universally appealing than any of the others. That’s not to say I think they’ll win the award, I’ve yet to make up my mind about that prediction, but I do think they would get the popular vote…or at least would were they not up against the cock tease that was “Dance with Dragons”

Coca Cola Glazed Zombabies Back Ribs

an Olivia Original – inspired by Georgia Mason

giving a whole new meaning to the slogan “Life tastes good” Read more

Jul 23

1 Comment

Muffin Monday: Pack a Punch – Cornbread

From now on, every girl in the world who might be a Slayer, will be a Slayer.

Every girl who could have the power, will have the power.

Who can stand up, will stand up.

Every one of you, and girls we’ve never known, and generations to come…they will have strength they never dreamed of, and more than that, they will have each other.

Slayers.

Every one of us.

Make your choice.

Are you ready to be strong?

Which leads me into the final day recap of that nerdvana that is San Diego Comic Con:

Day 4.5 – Girl Power

(Wo)manning the grill

My only goals for the final day of SDCC were to get into the panel for the Buffy 20th anniversary lineup and to get Peter S. Beagle to sign a copy of The Last Unicorn.  I accomplished both, still with no Fringe hat damnit, and finished the day happy.  The Peter S. Beagle story surrounding getting to his booth is a great one but deserves its own post and so I will wait to discuss that later.  Anyway Sunday is usually a wrap up day and so the most important moment was probably the last supper that night with my friends before we parted ways.  Everyone met up at “The Strip Club” which is a steak spot with a rather clever business model: they provide the steaks but you grill them yourself.  Talk about making money for doing almost nothing.  I’m not complaining though, it was the best meal I had all weekend and that’s because it was me and my Sith friend Chris manning the grills.  Ending comic con in a star trek uniform, friends and grilling steaks?  I can live with that…except for the part where now my friends are far away again.

But back to the big Con event of my final day: Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  People still mock this show without knowing what it was.  I usually want to slap them.  This show is no fang-banger, overly fetishized vampiric paranormal romance that set female rights back under some religious agenda and has destroyed Comic Con.  Yes I’m looking at you Twilight and fans.  Buffy was one of the greatest, most female empowering episodic achievements to ever grace primetime network television.  I still have yet to see anything come close on a major network that touches the level of thoughtful feminism this show had.  I grew up with it and to say that it is important to me is akin to simply describing the universe as big—hence the focus on getting to see the 20 year lineup.  The panel itself was slightly disappointing especially compared to the Firefly reunion, it was a bit empty and would have been nice to see more of the cast assembled but I’m still glad I went.  Nicholas Brendan did the snoopy dance so I call it a win.

This show is still to me the first to really showcase a strong female lead that didn’t need men to succeed.  True she has men helping her but key to the plot was always that it was one girl alone who could save the world—no man.  True there have been female superpower shows in the past like Charlie’s Angels but do you notice that even within the title the women are grammatically possessed by a male leader?  Exactly.  When I talk about the “girl power” aspect of Buffy I always think of the last episode.  The speech from the finale of Buffy always gets to me.  SPOILER ALERT: if you want to watch this show at any time I’m about to basically ruin the conclusion of the arc for the final season for you.  Just be forewarned.

In the finale of BTVS Buffy decides she’s had enough of being the only strong woman in the world just because a bunch of men decided to set it up that way thousands of years ago.  In order to create an army that can fight off the advances of a very imposing ancient vampire army, Buffy gets Willow (a wicca more powerful than all of those men combined) to release Buffy’s power.  The intent:  activate all the women who have the potential for strength and greatness.  I always get chills when I hear the speech.   Buffy did awaken an entire generation of viewers to the idea that they could be strong.  This moment in the show serves a plot point but it was a pretty obvious reference to the significance of the series in popculture: Buffy inspired a new world of modern, strong females through a television set week after week.

From those who’ve never seen BtVS I still hear mockery, even of the title.  After all who names their superhero Buffy?  It’s such a funny name.  They say: wouldn’t it be better if she were “Hunter” or “Joan” or something that sounds a little less country club and a little more masculine.  I always have to explain that was the whole point.  Confront someone with an image that upsets their preset conclusions.  Most people see a blonde, waifish cheerleader with a silly name and discount her as anything more than a moppet.  People don’t want to have to look below the surface; that gets complicated and time consuming and worst it’s confusing.  Confusion makes people scared and angry but it’s important.  We need to take a bite out of something comforting and simple to discover complexity below the surface in order to grow.

In short this show probably irrevocably changed my life, inspired me and certain episodes still bring tears to my eyes.  Keeping with this theme of something both incredibly corny and unassuming that packs a punch below the surface…here are some jalapeño peppered corn muffins.  These are the most flavorful, earth changing corn muffins I have ever had.  I definitely prefer them to the sweeter variety and the moistness!  Oh my gosh.  The corn and additions help the muffin retain moisture during baking.  It’s amazing. 4 days later and they had still not dried out.  Serve this up alongside some steaks and fried swiss chard and you have the sassiest southern meal imaginable.

Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins

From Dorie Greenspan’s “Baking: From My Home to Yours”                         Read more

Jul 19

Ginger Brownies Cooks-011
80 Comments

Brownies with Bite

Comic-Con Recaps to resume tomorrow.

Last night I was curled up with a pint of Arctic Zero and Pablo Neruda pausing to reflect on my life and where it is versus where it’s going.  The last year has been rough, there is no denying that, and there are things I really want to do moving forward.  Things I’ve been too afraid to do.  Things I had excuses not to try.  Those excuses are drying up and it’s time to actually take the plunge.

My most recent ex (spiderman as I’d call him on here from time to time) was probably the biggest thing keeping me from making the move I know I need to make.  I have this inability to give up on relationships with people who I’ve given part of myself to.  I have this kind of sick need to see that something is really dead and gone before I can bury it and move on.  I’m too afraid of leaving something still breathing or beating in a box below the ground.  As a result many of my breakups happen after prolonged periods of misery for one or both people.  This last one was a while coming, I saw it happening and frankly there were some really big warning signs.  After all when your significant other is doing things that show an utter lack of respect to you, to your supposed relationship, that’s a sign it’s time to move on.  Maybe it’s because I feel like I’ve lost so many people in my life, I want to hold on and hope it will pull through.  It could also be that I’m just used to the dysfunction. 

I know it’s nuts, but part of me believes that real love and passion have to go hand-in-hand with pain and fighting.  I wonder where I get that from. 

Still if that person in your life is texting someone else at 2AM about tearing off their clothes, odds are it’s time to get out.   If there are more tense moments and almost fights than smiles, it might be time to get out.   I just always want to go on fighting until there’s nothing left to fight for.  That’s not the right way to be.

Do you know what I think it really comes down to?  I think I, and people like me, know that it’s over but the truth is we are afraid.  Fear.  That’s the real problem.   Another friend of mine is going through a painful breakup.  I think his first.  You know what echoes a lot when we talk about it?  Fear.  Fear of never finding someone else that makes the world shine in the way only love makes it shimmer.  Fear of being alone.   Fear that 20 years down the road you will look back and discover that this was the biggest mistake of your lifetime and you can never reclaim it.  Fear.

You know what?

Fuck Fear.

Fear is a bitch.  I’m not saying go out and embrace stupid choices to defy it.  Caution, sound judgment and rationality are all good things.  When your skin prickles as you stand next to a roaring black bear it’s for a damn good reason.  The fear of it though, that’s what leads to making stupid choices and mistakes.  Fear is what keeps horses standing still when a fire rages around them.  Fear is what motivates people to sacrifice their freedom for an illusion of safety.  Fear is what leads to internment camps and gas chambers.  Fear is what keeps us stuck in the past instead of moving forward.  It’s the fear that you will look back on in life and regret. 

I must not fear.

Fear is the mind-killer.

Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.

I will face my fear.

I will permit it to pass over me and through me.

And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.

Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.

Only I will remain.

If there is one thing I want to improve and to work on now, it’s not giving into that anymore.  After a breakup it’s okay to be sad or be angry.  I can be both of those things for a long time if I want to be.   I’ll probably feel angry and used for a while still after this last one.  What I refuse to be is afraid.  I will not cower inside and be afraid that my life is over or that I will always look back on each last relationship with only regret.  I will not fear that the best is over.  That will accomplish nothing.  It may be true.  I must not let myself believe it before I know it.  If I am 80 years old someday and reading this shaking my head at how stupid I was, I’ll know then, but I’m not 80 yet.  I have the luxury of living my life right now and I’ll leave the 20/20 hindsight to my future self-regarding this message if turns out to be all wrong. 

I won’t think about that today.  I’ll think about it tomorrow.

So instead I’m going to jump off some cliffs and try to build my wings on the way down.  Why be afraid of the fall?  If I fall it will all be over and I won’t have a chance to regret it.

In honor of the Dune, the Bene Gesserit, and oddly enough this theme of anti-fear that runs through a lot of my Hugo Award nominees (just wait until I review Deadline guys) I’m going to share some ginger spiced brownies with you today.  Brownies are the perfect comfort food and the spice/Dune connection is hopefully pretty obvious but don’t go thinking these are food for girls or boys wallowing in their misery.  Sure they will work well for that, but the candied ginger gives these brownies a real bite hidden inside of them.   A hidden surprise that will wake you up; exactly what was called for last night and what anyone stuck in their misery needs—a delicious, sharp slap to the face!

Fearless Ginger Brownies

Modified slightly from Cook’s Illustrated “Classic Brownies” recipe published 2004 Read more

Apr 18

Curry it Along

Hello, my name is Olivia and I’m a neurotic perfectionist. They say admitting the problem is the first step. I’m not going to sit there and spend 30 minutes straightening a painting mind you, and I’ve certainly “decorated” cakes that looked like a 2 year old did it. No I don’t always take it quite that far but I do have what are considered “unreasonably high standards” that I set for myself. As such I tend to catalog and replay, for no reason at all, every time I’ve failed to meet that standard or live up to what I know my full potential is. I practically have a full NFL commentary running on each incident.

It sucks.

Of course this need to be my absolute best is what drives me, at my best, and can completely freeze me up at my worst. There were several years of depression where I literally could not function because I was stuck in this zone of spiraling failure that my brain had predetermined every event outcome to be. While the down side is debilitating, ultimately this attitude is the engine for my bottom line: “I Make It Happen.” Now this bottom line gets me into trouble sometimes because I will forgo convention, and occasionally unintentionally hurt feelings in my quest to get something finished. I’m a fairly considerate person and so it’s usually a round-about stepping on toes. Mostly because I just have no patience for things I perceive to be “time wasters” and would rather see something get done correctly myself than leave it up to someone else if it results in a lot of wasted time explaining things.

Let me try to explain from a recent example. If standard protocol dictates I follow a set order that makes it impossible to complete my end goal on time I will improvise, manage or generally do whatever it takes to find an alternate route. If this means I pick up the slack where other people are failing, I do it, usually without complaint because my only concern is making sure I get the job done. I really don’t get upset if it means I put something together that normally a vendor or teammate would do. In the process the person being displaced can feel made useless, ignored or worse if a superior, undermined. That’s never my intention and I have discovered I need to be more aware of this in the future. I’m just used to a “no excuses, make it happen” mindset.

I once tried to use an excuse to get out of something deliberately as a child. It is always stuck in my mind as the 4th grade ruler incident. I had some math homework I didn’t feel like finishing and I was cutting corners so I could go play outside. One question called for a ruler and since I couldn’t find one in the house, I didn’t bother with the problem. In class the next day I was called on to answer that question. I shot my teacher a shit eating grin and replied that since I didn’t own a ruler at home I couldn’t have done the problem. I loved this teacher. Basically every child in my school worshipped her.

She turned an icy gaze on me and told me that was no excuse and walked on. I felt disgusted with myself. I was mad at myself for letting her down and even angrier still at myself because I knew she was right. I could have figured something out, or at least put some sort of work into the problem. I tried my hand at the idea that it was the world’s fault and found it just wasn’t for me. I remember this incident of course, because I remember every time I have ever felt that deep twinge of disappointment in myself for failure to live up to what I know I could do. I just wish this same positive force didn’t have the power to freeze me, shut me down and make me feel fatalistic when I fail.

This is a fantastic recipe that comes together pretty quickly on a weeknight for those with a need to overdo it.  The recipe is made with coconut milk and coconut cream (think of it as a reduced coconut milk) but keep in mind that coconut milk isn’t actually dairy but be sure to check the label in case your company mixes in milk.  Making this the most vegan, lactose-intolerant delicious parve meal ever.  Can’t find coconut cream?  It’s easy to make from coconut milk–simple pour a second batch into a glass, refrigerate and allow the fats to separate.  What rises to the top is your coconut cream.  Keep in mind this is also really more of a fall recipe when there are bountiful sweet pumpkins for sale at the market.  Unfortunately I haven’t applied my work ethic to this blog as of yet and I’m sitting on a backlog of recipes I never put together or blog posts I never wrote.  I’m attempting to change this in the coming weeks.

Do or Do Not.   Damn okay I should say attempting, I should say AM changing this week.  Yoda is no friend to half-assed blogging attempts.

 Creamy Pumpkin and Cashew Curry Read more

Sep 15

Texas Jalepeno Corn Bread Chipotle Mayo

Ready for an a-Maize-ing Week?

I was preparing the post for a recipe for Texas Buttermilk Cornbread and it got me thinking….you don’t get more American than Corn.

No really.  The top three crops grown in the world are wheat, rice and corn; within the United States corn tops the list as the number one crop for harvest.  North America (so this includes Mexico and other Latin countries) harvest 332 metric tons in a year.  The American portion of that number makes up 40% of the total corn in the world and of that number how much do we actually eat as corn?

Only 3%

Corn is the crop we grow in the greatest quantity and yet we only consume, in its natural form, 3% of what gets harvested.  I’ll be delving more into why that is in a future post because there’s enough to talk about with corn, and I have quite few recipes, to make this an “A-Maize-ing Week.”

Corn 101

Domestication of corn began in the mesoamericas 10,000 years ago.  The plant has several names you may have heard: Zea mays, Teosinte, Maize, Indian corn and variations of Corn like Sweet/Dent/Popcorn etc.  I’m going to try to explain all the taxonomy for you now.  Zea is name of a genus of grasses, Zea mays being the variety we know as corn, and teosinte is a name given to many other varieties of Zea we do not consume.  Teosinte looks nothing like the corn we eat but it has played a part in the genetic manipulation of corn over the centuries.  It was only through a great deal of human directed evolution that we have edible corn today.  I’ll get into that more for my GMO post.

“Maiz” was the Spanish form of a word used by the Taino people for corn.  These were the indigenous people that Columbus (Spanish explorer, see, starting to make sense now) interacted with during his (in)famous discovery of America.  The British referred to any cereal crop as corn.  Cereal crops include wheat, rice, barley and so on.  Eventually the term became associated just maize. Terminology’d! Read more

Oct 28

I Love Kale

I know, not my best title, but it’s simple and 100% true.  I really truly love my winter Kale from my CSA.  It’s delicious if you know what to do with it.  Personally I associate kale with one of two things when I see it: a delicious italian rustic soup OR kale chips.  My first batch from the CSA this fall went to the former.  Especially now that the weather in California has finally turned and the nights are cold.  Soup on a cold night, snuggled up on a couch with your dog…really what more could a girl want in her life?

Tuscan Kale and White Bean Soup

  • 12 cups chicken broth
  • 1 veal bone
  • 2 cloves diced garlic
  • 1 shallot, thinly diced
  • 3 sprigs fresh oregano
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 16 oz white beans, re-hydrated from the previous night
  • 1 large bunch Kale, sliced into ribbons
  • ~8 oz (1 package) of  ground spicy italian sausage
  • salt and pepper as needed

In the base of a large soup stockpot brown the sausage and remove.  Try to save as much of the oil from the sausage for use in browning the garlic and onions.  Add enough olive oil to coat the pan if you need it.  Caramelize the garlic and onions and then fill the pot with the stock and veal bone.  Bring to a boil and toss in the oregano and bay leaves.

Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes.  The purpose here is to wean flavor from the herbs and marrow from the veal bone.  After 30 minutes remove the bone and herbs from the pot.  Add in the white beans, sausage and kale.  Let simmer another 15 minutes.  Adjust salt and pepper to taste.  The sausage I used was super spicy on it’s own so the soup needed little if any additional spice but if yours is tame, add some red pepper flakes to taste as well.

 

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