This Show is Funny

Ok, a late comer in the new season, I have recently discovered Carpoolers. It's got a bunch of stuff going for it. But the main reason to watch it -- Canadian humor. It's not only written by, but produced and created by Bruce McCullough . You know him from Kids in the Hall, one of my favorite funny shows of all time. The plots all revolve around these 4 guys who carpool together every morning. Hilarious! Watch it and we'll talk. One stand-out character is Marmaduke, one of the carpoolers' sons. He's bizarre! Sorry for such a tiny picture....

Double Feature

Eventhough it was another beautiful day, I decided to hit the theater for matinee day. It has been SO long since I've done this. I picked a couple of good movies to watch.

3:10 to Yuma -- a remake of a classic Western with Christian Bale and Russell Crowe. Wow, in the end, people end up doing the right thing for the right reason. How often does that happen anymore. I'm not a big fan of the Western, but I enjoyed this quite a bit.

The Darjeeling Limited -- I know many people think Wes Anderson is some kind of pretentious hack, but I still enjoy his movies. They have been kind of going down hill (The Life Aquatic is NO Rushmore), but I think he is redeemed in this movie. A story of 3 brothers on a journey. They have a quirky relationship (of course), but it all works for me.

Fresh Donuts

I never have been a big fan of the donut. However, if you eat it one minute after it has been removed from the hot oil, and it is sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.....YUM! Another reason why I love Fall City Farms. We got 2 dozen of them last time we went. Too bad I was already stuffed full of XXX hamburger and rootbeer float.

Here is the magic donut machine. I heard that for a mere $7000, you can have one too!

It Means X-tra Large

I went to XXX Rootbeer this past weekend on my way to Fall City Farms (see entry below). This time I had my munchkins (nieces and nephew) with me. I have determined that XXX must mean X-tra X-tra large. Check out the burger and fries I ordered. I think it was called the 49 Woodie or something like that. But, they forgot to put in our order, so I spent 40 minutes sucking down my ginormous rootbeer float on an empty stomach and getting a major sugar rush. The burger was super-delicious. Bacon, American cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, special sauce, and meat patty. However, I would not recommend getting one of these everyday, for instance. There is a danger of a huge tummy ache.

Although I was not hungry, I made jambalaya for a dinner party. It was good, but not as good as the one I had in Montana. I admit that I did acidentally get the wrong sausage -- mistaking chorizo for andouille. Don't ask. I think I like my rice in the dish, rather than served in the bottom of the bowl. Judge for yourself:

EVERYTHING JAMBALAYA
2 cups enriched white rice
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, once around the pan
1 tablespoon butter
1 pound boneless, skinless white or dark meat chicken
3/4 pound andouille, casing removed and diced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
Several drops hot sauce or 2 pinches cayenne pepper
2 to 3 tablespoons (a handful) all-purpose flour
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice
1(14-ounce) can or paper container chicken stock or broth
1 teaspoon (1/3 palmful) cumin
1 rounded teaspoon (1/2 palmful) dark chili powder
1 teaspoon (1/3 palmful) poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 pound medium shrimp, raw, deveined and peeled (ask for easy peel at fish counter)
Coarse salt and black pepper
Chopped scallions, for garnish Fresh thyme, chopped for garnish

Cook rice to package directions. Place a large, deep skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and butter to the pan. Cube chicken and place in hot oil and butter. Brown chicken 3 minutes, add sausage, and cook 2 minutes more. Add onion, celery, pepper, bay, and cayenne. Saute vegetables 5 minutes, sprinkle flour over the pan and cook 1 or 2 minutes more. Stir in tomatoes and broth and season with cumin, chili, poultry seasoning, and Worcestershire. Bring liquids to a boil and add shrimp. Simmer shrimp 5 minutes until pink and firm. Remove the pot from the heat and place on a trivet. Ladle jambalaya into shallow bowls. Using an ice cream scoop, place a scoop of rice on to the center of the bowlfuls of jambalaya. Sprinkle dishes with salt, pepper, chopped scallions, and thyme leaves.

Colcannon

I went to Fall City Farms last weekend where my friend Hillary works. It was completely charming. While there I got some beets, peppers, leeks and the most beautiful swiss chard I have ever seen. All the stalks were different shades of red, orange, yellow. Gorgeous. Although it's usually made with kale, I used the swiss chard in colcannon, which I have been wanting to make for a long time.

COLCANNON:
4 medium to large all-purpose potatoes, such as Russet, peeled and cut into chunks
Coarse salt, for boiling water
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 head dark curly kale, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup whole milk, eyeball it
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, fresh or grated
1 teaspoon ground thyme 2 scallions, sliced
A handful of fresh parsley, chopped

Boil potatoes for 15 minutes in salted water. Drain potatoes and return them to the hot pot and mash.

In a large skillet over moderate heat melt butter and add milk. Season with nutmeg and thyme and add scallions to the pan. Remove kale from cooking liquid to the milk and butter mixture using a slotted spoon. Stir in 1/2 cup of cooking liquid. Add mashed potatoes to milk and kale and stir until combined and creamy, 1 or 2 minutes. Stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Paired with some lamb, this was a very tasty meal. Ahh...and because no Irish meal is complete without soda bread, we made some of that too. Ugh. That last piece put me over the edge as my belly swelled out beyond unreasonable proportions. But i put some creamed honey on it (from the farm as well) and it was sooooo delicious. Magically delicious.

The New Shows

I've been a shut-in for a couple of weeks -- feeling much better now, thank you! But instead of going out to the movies like usual (it's literally been a whole month -- omg) I have been seeing what's going on with the new fall season. Here are the new shows I like:

Bionic Woman: This is pretty good! I read about it when I was in London because the lead is actually a Brit. I can not tell at all -- she does a convincing job of being American. Starbuck from Battlestar Gallactica is on here as the original bionic woman, so I don't what the deal is with that. Will Starbuck return? The show does not start until after 2008, so maybe this is what she did during her vacation?

Pushing Daisies: I heard somebody on a talk show say he liked this, so I decided to check it out. It's quirky and fun. And dark. And I like the storytelling. Very Tim Burton, Big Fish. This has made it onto the Tivo. In the last episode, Olive broke out in song, singing "Hopelessly Devoted to You". That was pretty cool. Oh, and the dude is a piemaker!

Chuck: I'm still giving this one a chance. I think I will keep watching it because it's kind of fun and mindless. Kind of Alias, kind of Revenge of the Nerds. Doesn't quite live up to the hype, but it'll do.

Journeyman: I'm a fan of the dude in here who was also in Rome. Conceptually, I like the series alot too. It is not always good, or makes that much sense. I may give up on it. But lately I have the time, so I watch it.

What does this mean? A lot on the TIVO! Along with my old shows, I'm becoming one of those people!

Other stuff I tape: Heroes, 30 Rock, Ellen, Desperate Housewives (might give up on this soon), The Office, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, various cooking shows.

TV Time

Oh, did I mention that I've been sick? That should be more like sick, with a capital "S"! So, what did I watch this past weekend?

The Last King of Scotland: rewatched this. Brilliant performances. So good. And the icing on the cake, of course, is James McAvoy and his Scottish accent. I know, it's a thing. But this movie does something unusual -- at times uplifting, it's also heart-wreching. Much like the regime of Idi Amin must have been. Your best friend and worst enemy -- all wrapped up into one.

The Flying Scotsman: Ok, I just did some research and have to take back my thoughts on Johnny Lee Miller's Scottish accent. While he is not a Scot, he is indeed British. Maybe he's been living in America too long? I just did not find his accent believable, but the movie overall was pretty good. Billy Boyd is also in it (Pippin from LOTR). I am learning so much... "Born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1968", which makes him older than me. Pippin!

Cool Hand Luke: I'm not usually one to go back and watch all the classics, but if someone recommends one to me, I am all ears. I was a little confused because I thought this movie was about pool and was the prequel to "The Color of Money". I later found out that that is "the Hustler" and this movie is about prison and one man's inability to conform. Besides Paul Newman, there is a whole slew of recognizable faces like George Kennedy, a very young Dennis Hopper, a guy from MASH, Harry Dean Stanton, and that good looking actor on the Smith cd's....

Rome: Season 2 of the HBO series. It's entertaining enough. But really, sometimes I wonder....it can be kind of soap-opera-y, but with more nudity and killing. The one thing that does bug me is that there are only 2 episodes on each dvd. What's with that?