busy bee

The last week (or 10 days actually) have been crazy. We’ve been attending the Los Angeles Film Fest non-stop, packing in as many films as possible. I can’t reiterate how good it is for me to see so many films. It is the equivalent of flooding my brain with serotonin. Shawn sometimes teases me because I am so determined to see movie after movie, but I love it. It makes me happy and gets my creativity flowing. I love seeing great films and honestly, I do my best thinking during slightly boring movies. There were a few highlights I’ll definitely share with you all.

On top of that, Shawn and I shot a wedding this weekend at a lovely farmhouse. While Shawn is a seasoned pro event photographer, it was a totally new experience for me, and it was sort of awesome. I am pretty pleased with how things went. I definitely enjoyed having a front row seat of everything and license to take photos, it wiped away much of my timidness.

In other news, I’ve been slowly making over our kitchen and I’m finally ready to share. Hooray! There will be a before and after later this week.

donut love

Ever since we had our Twin Peaks marathon I’ve been thinking about donuts. A lot. In fact, yesterday I told Shawn I am going to open a tiny donut shop, just so I can have them whenever I want. Ok, not really. I would like to try out some recipes though.

I’ve always liked my donuts light and fluffy, and fried. The best donuts I ever made were spudnuts (potato donuts) that were soft and airy. If only I had written down the recipe. I’ve vowed to try again sometime. On the other hand, I’ve been dying to make these beignets forever now too.

The thing with fried donuts though is that they’re really only good for a little while. It doesn’t take long for them to get that weird old donut texture, so unless you’re eating them right out of the fryer, they’re not as awesome. So despite my love of all things fried, I am really starting to like baked donuts. I guess I’ll have to get a donut pan to make these.

Plus if I get a donut pan, I can make rice crispie treat donuts. Or maple donuts. Or any kind of donut I want. Donuts forever!

Do you have a favorite kind of donut?

jackfruit and potato pals

It’s been nearly a year since Pure Luck closed and I still miss it all the time. The only thing that takes the edge off is that it’s not too hard to recreate their menu at home. It’s not quite the same obviously, but works when you’re desperate for a jackfruit burrito.

There is not much to making your own, the key ingredient of course being the jackfruit carnitas. So, to make your life a little brighter, I’ve included the recipe below.

Pure Luck Jackfruit Carnitas

1 20 oz can Jackfruit in brine, drained and rinsed
1 bottle Mexican coke
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 heaping teaspoons Better than Bouillon mixed with 2 cups water (I used the No Chicken base, but could be done with the No Beef base I’m sure)

Generally speaking, I like to make this in my crock pot, because it’s easy to just let it cook overnight, but you could also just let it all simmer for 20-30 minutes on the stove.

Heat 1 Tbsp of oil in a pan over medium flame. Add onion and garlic to the pan and saute until the onions have softened, stirring so that the garlic doesn’t burn. Set aside.

Break up the jackfruit a little with your hands, separating the flesh (don’t worry too much about the core, it will soften up when cooked). Add jackfruit, cooked onions, garlic and all other ingredients to your crock pot and cook on high for 4-6 hours or on low overnight. You can keep the jackfruit in this broth until you are ready to eat it.

In an iron skillet or heavy bottomed pan, heat the remaining oil over medium high flame. Add the jackfruit and saute until browned. You’ll want to break up the jackfruit even more at this point, particularly the cores. Toss in your burrito and enjoy!

The other majorly important side dish from Pure Luck is the potato pals. Someone asked for the recipe to make these, but honestly, they’re basically premade. I suppose you could get all fancy and make some gnocchi from scratch, but that’s certainly not what Pure Luck did. So just pick up a package of gnocchi from the market (make sure they don’t have eggs in them), cook them following the instructions on the package, and then fry them up. I don’t have a deep fryer so, I just fry them in some oil in a skillet. They still taste awesome. Missing the dipping sauce? It’s just vegenaise and bbq mixed in equal parts.

I’m still dreaming that one day Pure Luck will reopen it’s doors somewhere else, but until then, I’ll just go on making jackfruit carnitas and potato pals at home. Now if only I could crack their caesar dressing I’d be set.

chevron quilt

Remember that chevron quilt I was working on? Well I finally finished it. It took FOREVER. One day I will actually remember that quilting is a really extensive process. Maybe.
In any case, I am really happy with how it looks in our bedroom, making it even more monochromatic than before. Even though I made a ton of mistakes at the end of this project, I still have the quilting bug. I’ve just learned that quilting a queen size quilt on a tiny sewing machine doesn’t work as well as I had hoped it would. I still can’t wait to start the next one. I’ll just have to make sure I have a long time to work on it.

favorite movies

I’ve been mulling over this post for a few weeks, trying to think of what films I would populate my favorite movie list with. It is really hard. Not because there aren’t movies that I love so much, but because there are so many, it’s difficult to narrow down into a succinct list. Every movie added opens the door for another equally wonderful film. You want to make a well rounded list; not all of one genre, not all of one style or director.* Even more complicated is the definition of the word favorite. Should the list be examples of superb filmmaking or just the movies that you love more than any other? Like I said, it’s complicated. Nonetheless, I made a list, and I think it is a fairly accurate portrait of my taste. So here it is, in no particular order…**

 

Sense and Sensibility

I love everything about Sense and Sensibility and could watch it endlessly. It has the perfect combination of romance and heartbreak, stellar acting from some of the best British actors out there, plus beautiful set design and costumes. The story is gripping, even though it is historical. Watching this film makes me feel as if I know these characters and experience their trials right along with them.
 

Antichrist

Antichrist has the perfect balance of beauty and terror and for this I love it dearly. Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg are impeccable in this feature, in roles that are somewhat of a reversal from the typical. This film is magically shot, with just the right amount of mystery to make the horror work. It also has the ability to make you feel anxiety like no other film I’ve seen.
 

True Romance

Shawn might think I’m a little nuts for how much I request to watch True Romance. It just never gets old to me. I know a lot of people have problems with it because of it’s relationship to Badlands, but it really doesn’t take away the fact that True Romance is an intriguing and entertaining movie. The characters range from bizarre to loveable and I enjoy how the story turns from typical romance to ridiculous action. Overall this movie is just fun to watch and I relish all it’s absurd little details.
 

Poltergeist

I grew up watching Poltergeist so it is near and dear to my heart. It is one of those films that has had a lasting effect on my psyche (whether that’s a good thing, I’m not sure) and has molded my tastes as a horror lover. Poltergeist manages to be scary without being heavy handed. It is the simplicity of the haunting, along with the endearing and realistic characters, that makes it so frightening. I’m very worried about the fact that this film is being remade, and am really hoping for the best, rather than the worst.
 

Wild at Heart

I couldn’t have a complete list without including something from David Lynch, and Wild at Heart fits the bill. While I also have a strong affection for Blue Velvet, the combination of the intensely doomed romance, grotesque characters and strange circumstances in Wild at Heart wins my heart through and through. This is one of the cases where Nicolas Cage’s weirdness is perfect for the part, plus another (extra creepy) appearance by Willem Dafoe.

So there is my list, for now anyway. Five favorite films. I’m sure as soon as I hit publish I will think of one that I should have absolutely included. In fact, I’ve already thought of two honorable mentions that probably should have made it, (but I’m not going to add now): The Craft and All the Real Girls. Although they may or may not have been intentionally left off because I’m too embarrassed to have them on my favorite film list.

So, what are you favorite movies?

Notes:
*In the process of writing this I’ve already discovered a problem with this list. While I’ve included films that I love, I am missing films representative of a few of my favorite directors, particularly Stanley Kubrick, the Coen Brothers and Roman Polanski. The simple thing to do would just be to add a film by each but I simply cannot choose. I can’t say that I love either The Shining or 2001 more than the other. Nor can I say that I love No Country for Old Men more than Fargo or Raising Arizona. I also cannot say that I love Rosemary’s Baby more than Chinatown. In fact, I love them all, and they should really have their own list in a way (which is what this is, sort of).

**Also I have not included films I’ve written about here before, specifically A Woman Under the Influence, which is just impecable. Also, I would like to include Oslo August 31st and Kill List, but as they are such new films, I feel that they need to settle in before becoming a part of this list, which is eternally subject to change.