So there is a bunch of stuff that I have been meaning to post but havent. And that is mostly becasue I wanted to write a post about last weekend and havent had time. So I am going to post the random stuff and then hopefully write last weekend's post. We will see. In case I dont, here are the highlights -
Friday night was Joey's Memorial Party at the Westbury. The point of the event was twofold. Firstly, to have something in his honor more appropriate than the actual funeral. The second was to offer something for those people who were unable, for whatever reason, to go to the actual funeral. So we threw an 8 hour party where some people drank too much, some people cried it out, a DJ (DJ Mike Mesa) played and we collected about $450 (and a condom, a bottle of lube and a pack of matches) for Phildelphia Animal Welfare Society (
PAWS). It was fairly well attended, though there were some people who were not able to make it.
Saturday night we went to the Best Wedding Ever. Ever. Sorry for all you other married couples whose weddings we have attended. Nothing can compete really. It was at the
Constitution Center. The
mayor officiated. There was an ice sculpture of their
dachshund. The band who played Tina Fey's wedding,
The Sid Miller Dance Band, played. Yeah. Not to mention the Manhattans (official drink of the wedding), the food (mini cheesesteaks! mini cannolis!), Signer's Hall, the parting gift (soft pretzels! with mustard!). All of it was awesome. But really, the band was the thing that put it over the top. They started with Dean Martin, ended with Journey, hit everything in the middle and everything was spot on perfect. Oh, by the way, Rob and Jennie were the bride and groom. Rob is Poo of
ciggitycite (check out the right hand bar).
Speaking of the right hand bar, there is a new blog there,
...But Enough About Me that I would recommend. Written by a new friend of ours.
Sunday we went for cheesesteaks. Tried a new place (for us):
Ishkabibbles. Definitely impressed and it has made my list. We had a cheesesteak (provolone and fried onions) and a South Philly cheesesteak (provolone, spinach, roasted peppers). Both were excellent. Highly recommended. You can grab your steaks and then wander over to the river to eat. We went to the
Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The one at Front and Spruce. Then we headed to UC for
Star Trek. I really really really really liked it. I really did. Best movie ever? No. But it was really good. And mostly I just love what they did with it. It wasn't what I thought it was going to be and that makes me happy. But unfortunately if I say any more about it I will give things away. So I will stop. But you really really need to check it out if you like Star Trek. Or science fiction. Or general fun action-y movies.
Ok, so maybe I dont need to write a post for last weekend.
Other things:
The garden.
So yeah, the garden is certainly getting there. I am concerned about the stuff from seed. But I think the little greenhouse thing (birthday present from Dan, Rob and Karla) will help. And there are already a few sprouts.
The War of the Worlds.
1953. Well, what can I say. It was 1953. For 1953 this was a ground-breaking movie. The effects were state of the art. The sci-fi genre was new (or non-existant) and here comes a movie based on an H.G. Wells novel from 1898 (the Orson Welles radio show was 1938). Is it well done for our standards? Of course not. Did it fit with the novel? No idea, never read it. Did it fit with the radio drama which many probably remembered at the time? Yeah. Is it worth a watch? Sure. Could it be analyzed to death? Abso-fucking-lutely. So yeah. Not really sure what to say. The leading lady, played by
Ann Robinson, is capable of serving donuts, frying eggs, writing theses on important scientists (all men) and looking horrified which is a bit disappointing. It is pretty much what you expect from a 1953 sci-fi flick.
Ceiling.
Does anyone remember when we had those ceiling problems that lasted forever? Started with a drip from the shower onto the ceiling right above the couch in the living room. Became a hole. Became a giant hole and an open ceiling but was eventually fixed? Well. It is back. This time no drip. Just a suddenly-appearing wet spot. Quickly turning into a mildew-y/fuzzy spot. Yay! The plumber is coming Monday.
Dinners:
Monday night we had
Chicken Souvlaki. Very good, highly recommended. Tuesday night we grilled (and had a run-in with out neighbor which is a whole 'nother story). Wednesday night we had my first lasagna
for the Lost season finale. I am pretty happy with the way the lasagna turned out. Tuesday night I made meatballs and sauce (with hot and sweet Italian sausage) and put the whole thing together. We used Trader Joe's No Boil lasagna noodles which worked perfectly. For cheese we used fat-free ricotta, mozzarella, grated asiago and Trader Joe's Quattro Formaggio (parmesan, provolone, fontina and asiago). We also added thawed, drained frozen spinach. I think (and Matty agrees) we needed more cheese (and full fat ricotta) and less sauce (Matty kept making me add more). But for a first try it was pretty awesome. And then last night we had
Chicken-Orzo Salad with Goat Cheese which was AWESOME!
Thinner.
The novel, not the movie. Written in 1984 by Stephen King as Richard Bachman. It was ok. I was not expecting anything great. For two reasons. Firstly, Matty told me he didnt like it. Secondly, I am not s huge Bachman fan. Which sounds ridiculous. But really. I feel like King would finish a book and if it was good, he would put his name on it. If it was ok he would put Bachman on it. Because the Bachman books I have read have been definitely King-esque stories. But they do not have the thing that I LOVE about Stephen King in them. The rich language. The descriptions so succint but so perfect that you can picture what he is talking about. The character development that is perfect, giving you exactly what you need, when you need it without bulky awkward exposition. This has none of that. It is a good story, but it just wasnt all there for me. Eh.
Oh and my phone is back! Or I got a new one! Well, a refurb, but it is new to me! So now I can actually hear people on my phone! Yay!
Recipes:
In Greece, souvlaki typically refers to skewers of grilled lamb. In America, chicken is more common, and it's often served in pita bread. Precooked chicken makes these sandwiches a snap to prepare. Serve with tabbouleh. (We served with Trader Joe's Bella salad. That is what it is supposed to look like over there. I forgot to take a pic of ours, sorry.)
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup plain Greek-style yogurt
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill (we used parsley since I dont really like dill)
1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil, divided
1 1/4 teaspoons bottled minced garlic, divided (we used a clove of fresh)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 cups sliced roasted skinless, boneless chicken breast (we used uncooked)
4 (6-inch) pitas, cut in half
1 cup shredded iceberg lettuce (we used romaine)
1/2 cup chopped peeled cucumber
1/2 cup chopped plum tomato
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion (we used regular onion)
Combine feta cheese, yogurt, dill, 1 teaspoon oil, and 1/4 teaspoon garlic in a small bowl, stirring well.
Heat remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add remaining 1 teaspoon garlic and oregano to pan, and sauté for 20 seconds. Add chicken, and cook for 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated. (We just cooked the chicken in the olive oil with the garlic and oregano) Place 1/4 cup chicken mixture in each pita half, and top with 2 tablespoons yogurt mixture, 2 tablespoons shredded lettuce, 1 tablespoon cucumber, and 1 tablespoon tomato. Divide onion evenly among pitas.
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 stuffed pita halves) (Made enough for us for dinner plus 1 lunch) CALORIES 414 (30% from fat); FAT 13.7g (sat 6.4g,mono 4.7g,poly 1.4g); IRON 2.8mg; CHOLESTEROL 81mg; CALCIUM 187mg; CARBOHYDRATE 38g; SODIUM 595mg; PROTEIN 32.3g; FIBER 2g Cooking Light, DECEMBER 2007
Leftover salad is also good the next day for lunch (Yes it is!); stir in a handful of arugula to add a fresh touch, if you have extra on hand. Serve with pita wedges. (We just ate it on its own. Their picture is on the left, ours is on the right.)
1 1/4 cups uncooked orzo (rice-shaped pasta) (we used ~1 1/2 cups to finish a box)
3 cups chopped grilled chicken breast strips (such as Tyson) (We just grilled 2 breasts ourselves)
1 1/2 cups trimmed arugula (we used a whole head, be sure to rinse REALLY well since it can be pretty gritty otherwise)
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper (we used one bell pepper)
1/4 cup prechopped red onion (we chopped half of a regular onion)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (we used about twice this)
1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil (we used about twice this)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
6 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) crumbled goat cheese
1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain well.
2. Combine pasta, chicken, and the next 6 ingredients (through oregano) in a large bowl; toss well.
3. Combine vinegar, oil, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle vinegar mixture over pasta mixture; toss well to coat. (We just mixed it right into the salad instead of dirtying another bowl) Sprinkle with cheese.
Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 1/3 cups salad and 1 tablespoon cheese) (We each had dinner and then lunch today and there is probably another lunch and a half. And I was really hungry last night. So this makes a bunch and it is awesome leftover) CALORIES 295 (23% from fat); FAT 7.7g (sat 2.9g,mono 2.8g,poly 1.1g); IRON 2.4mg; CHOLESTEROL 55mg; CALCIUM 40mg; CARBOHYDRATE 32.1g; SODIUM 788mg; PROTEIN 24.4g; FIBER 2g Cooking Light, APRIL 2008
instead. This is by far my favorite Richard Bachman book so far. I really want to read Desperation, Stephen King's mirror to this book. This was a very King-ish Bachman book. Rich character development and description of feeling, thoughts, sensations and surroundings. The flow was very King-like and it had a bit of his "foretelling" that I often find a bit annoying but is very him. By foretelling I mean he will just give away something that happens that seems like a big thing at the time. I can't give a good actual example without actually giving something away. But a sentence will read something like "He dreamt of being old enough to drive his own car and impress the ladies." And then the next sentence will be, "Little did he know he would die still young enough to only own a bike and as much a viring as he was right then." Something like that, only written better obviously. But I am always like "What?! Wait! He dies?!" But anyway, back to this book. I really liked it. I thought it was going to be about the Low Men of the Dark Tower and Hearts in Atlantis because of lines from both of those books but it is completely different. Did I think it was an awesome piece of lit? No. But I really did like it. And I read it pretty quickly, for me at least.
