Blogifornia #1: Crossing Country

Today I went from the left of this picture, to the right of it.
That's right, it's launch day for my first (and last) ever reading week trip to California. This state has sunshine, mountains and of course, San Francisco, the city Harvey Milk turned upside down.
It could very easily be my favourite state, just based on the last factoid alone. It's a dream of mine to visit the Castro.(Sorry Texas. You still have nice boots.) San Francisco will have to be another trip.

I don't have much to say about today, but I thought I'd share one more photo with y'all.

I didn't apply any photo filters to that, at all. I think it's vintage looking. Love.
Also, they still have Vanilla Coke in the USA. WHAAAAT?

Single Serving Jack

I've been neglecting this, mostly because I haven't been doing anything interesting and I don't want to post for the sake of hearing myself talk. Today after seven weeks of routine, my brain has inevitably crashed and I needed to write something that wasn't a script review before I got any further into my happy little square of insanity.

The exciting news is that I'll be off to California next week, to explore a new corner of the world and get my blood flowing again. My mom is excited to babysit Costello for the week, and I'm excited to get away from my desk. I'll be blogging about it when I can. (Of course my camera and my laptop are coming with me!)

It's occurred to me however, that this much needed break from reality is going to be temporary. The reason anything makes me insane is because I feel like I do the same thing over and over and over again. It won't be long before I'm walking around hitting myself like the narrator from Fight Club.

_{I'm starting to see the resemblance.(source)}

So I guess in short, when I get back, I'm going to try and post more. A LOT more.

And if you read all that, for all your trouble, here's a video of Colin Firth swearing gratuitously. My favourite thing of the week thus far:

Snaps from the Past

I've been trying to de-clutter everything so that the move out in a few months and the packing that go with it are easier than cherry pie....whatever that means. I was rifling through papers today when I found a bunch of old photographs of my dad in his childhood. My mother sent them to me for a project in first year, and now in the final stretch of the third I've found them again.

I tried to scan them, but my scanner and my computer are giving each other the silent treatment.

I believe my dad is the charming little man in the bow tie. I thought it was fitting to post some of these pictures since it's family day... What better way to pay tribute to an excuse for a three day weekend than to look back at your collective past?


Looking at the photos really gave me a sense of nostalgia, but it was for a time I had never actually experienced at all. Finding these photos made me realize just how much I want to go through the photos I have, and print out the ones worth keeping. Before I was born, my Babcia's house (my mama's mom) burnt down in a fire. All of the photo albums and memories were lost. I think in the future if a hard drive breaks of a computer shuts down, we'll suffer the same consequences.

All of these thoughts are on the heels of some bad news, so I guess my tone might be a little grim at the moment. Christchurch, New Zealand was hit by another massive earthquake, the second one in the past five months. It was a 6.5 on the Richter scale, and it killed a couple of people.
My older sister and her boyfriend live in Christchurch-- thankfully they weren't hurt but they have to leave their home and get away from the city center for fear of bad aftershocks.

I guess the overlying theme here is that you shouldn't have to lose something to realize how much you love it. You should seize the opportunity to spread love (the Brooklyn way, or otherwise) NOW.

Betta' with Chedda'

Recently, I've been medically unfortunate. Three weeks ago, I had a cold sore on my lip...That was a new and enchanting experience. Last week, I had an eye infection that made my left eye red, swollen and painful. This week, I wore some shoes that made my heel blister....then the blister broke. Now it's infected and seeping. Friends, there are some things feet shouldn't do. One is to be uncomfortable in Ugg style boots. The other is seep. My left foot happens to be doing both right now. I don't walk in shoes, I hobble like a lovable Hunchback.

So today, after I got back from a shoot for the documentary I'm co-producing, Fire Academy, after I took off my boot and looked at the ugliest blister I've ever seen on my foot, after a nap, I finally got down to business and made myself an awesome dinner. Broccoli and cheddar risotto.

I'm gonna show you how to make it, because risotto is wonderful, delicious and versatile. I know what you're thinking, if you've never made risotto before. You're thinking it's complex, scary, time consuming. I'm here to tell you, risotto is like a college party.

The first time you go to a college party you're nervous, and the first time I made risotto, I was worried too. If I learned anything from watching Gordon Ramsay go ballistic on Hell's Kitchen, it was that this stuff is precise science and it was direly easy to mess up.
The funny part is, this isn't true at all. Now I make risotto on the fly, with random ingredients. This particular one is like your childhood best friend, broccoli and cheddar rice all grown up.

Meet our cast of characters:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup white wine
1/4 of a large onion, chopped
1 cup cheddar cheese (grated)
Broccoli, as much as you want (chopped)
2 chicken bouillon cubes + 4 cups hot water (or 4 cups of a stock of your choice!)
1 cup arborio rice

A party usually starts off with a few good friends. Onions and olive oil have been tight for a long time. Let them hang out in the pan, stirring over medium heat. Cook them until they're translucent like this:
At the same time, elsewhere, people are getting ready for the party, pre-drinking, dressing up, the works. So heat up your bouillon or your broth in a separate sauce pan, keeping the heat on medium low.
Add the rice into the onions. Rice is the shy freshmen at the party who need a bit of heat to let loose. Stir them around to coat them with oil for about a minute. Then add a cup of white wine, room temperature. (Or microwave it a little if you're like me and you forgot to take it out ahead of time.) The addition of the alcohol not only adds flavour, but it REALLY makes it like a party.
I don't use the expensive stuff...anything under 10$ will do.

At this point, more people have arrived. They're starting to mix and mingle together. Add the broth, one cup at a time. Stir it up until it is absorbed into the rice, adding until you're on your last cup.
Note: Stirring IS necessary for a risotto, but you don't have to spend 30 minutes straight doing it! I prepped the broccoli and cheddar, AND did dishes while I was minding this baby!

Now it's time for the the wild cards. Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce you to the party crashers. The people who show up at the party and make it a PARTY. The flavour. The BOOM!
Add the broccoli first, with the last cup of broth. It will need longer to cook, so give it a fighting chance to make itself at home with the other guests.

After this, add the cheese, stir in to melt. This is point in the party sometimes called kiss o'clock where everyone's hooking up. You can serve it immediately, but I like to let it cool and thicken a little. It's part exercise, part self control.
You know what I enjoyed with my awesome risotto dinner? Lavender Soda Pop. Damn straight.

The Odd Couple

My current job is working as an unpaid intern at a literary agency in downtown Toronto. I'm at the bottom of the food chain, a script reader who is basically paying to do work.
I read about one script per day, five days a week, and I'd like to say in my six weeks there, I've come across ONE script that was worth making into an actual movie. ONE.
Needless to say, I have read a lot of interesting and colourful scripts....and that's me being polite about it. Sometimes, the stories in them have combine some very unexpected elements. A few examples:

Comical Romance + Football
Giants + Teenage Murder
The Big Foot Myth + The Merlin Myth
Merry Poppins + Monster Slaying

As the person who sat through 100 pages of each of these scripts, I can tell you straight up that none of these combinations worked particularly well together. You know what works well together? Lavender and soda pop. I'm serious. Lavender Soda Pop.
I came home from work today to a visit from my mama, and you know what she brought me? One of my favourite things. You guessed it:
It was the perfect gift to end a long day where I read a 132 pages of a script that combined a PSA about the environment with a bunch of action movie explosions and Native American clichés. Sigh.

I first discovered this stuff when I was shopping at a health food store over the holidays with my family. They had a smorgasbord of amazing flavours from cucumber, juniper berry, blood orange to the beautiful one displayed above. I love off the wall foods and I immediately needed to try these. Lavender was my first bottle and my instant favourite. It's flowery, fragant and sweet....but not too sweet.

It feels totally sophisticated. (It's the only pop I've ever seen that suggests it would be worthwhile to serve with roast duck.) In addition, it's all natural and only 70 calories a bottle! Fancy!
This is why strange combinations can be GOOD. Whether it's lavender pop, or mixing prints in your clothing or eating peanut butter and pickle sandwiches, switch it up and try something new! I dare you!

P.S. Don't actually eat peanut butter and pickle sandwiches. I did it once on the suggestion from my dad, the man who puts seasoning salt on EVERYTHING. It's the last time I'll take culinary advice from him.

Valentine Vanity

I'm not a fashion blogger by any stretch of the imagination. I don't know anything about designers, fabrics, fashion week, or Vogue. In fact, until three weeks ago I thought websites like lookbook were filled with vain people who thought they were the hottest thing since training wheels. People getting off on looking at themselves.

Then I found something that surprised me: plus size fashion blogs. I realized that posting your clothes ain't about flaunting what you've got (not all of it), it's showing others they don't have to be afraid to rock out loud. That they could try and pull off something they never have before.

That being said, today we got dressed up to go out for a special Valentine's Day celebration.
It was WONDERFUL. The three of us, my roommates and I, met up with one of our friends, Alli. She's the rainbows to my sunshine, and she has the most infectious, loudest laugh I've ever heard! We had amazing Indian food followed by ice cream. I've never laughed so hard or had such delicious naan bread! I even tried goat! (It was delicious.)

So, with the encouragement of my friend and roommate Rebekah from Eden A La Mode I'm posting these pictures we took before we went out for our awesome dinner.

Everything looks artsy and cool with a little sepia tone added.
That's all I've got for now... I'm wondering what the rest of the world did to celebrate love day?

P.S. I wrote an article about St. Valentine's Day for TRAVIS magazine... You can check it out here!

Musical Monday: Cupid's Playlist

Valentine's Day started with a grilled cheese sandwich. It really think it was a perfect way to launch the day. I mean... I love cheese!

Today is also my older sister's birthday. Even though she's living far (FAR) away in New Zealand, she's going to be on my mind all day long. Maybe that's why I've never gotten upset about Cupid passing me by: it's a birthday, not a day for romance!

I feel this day should be filled with celebrating things and people who fill life up to the brim. (Sort of like Thanksgiving in the middle of February...) So while I'm patiently waiting for that next special someone to come around, I've got a big heart-on for the rest of who happens to be in my life. (Is this what growing up feels like?)

I think we have a mutual romance, don't you?

I love my life. It has it's ups and downs but so do roller coasters, and I like those too.
I love my friends, my family, my cat. I love my work, I love antique stores and old vinyl and new technology. I love to laugh, dance and sing. I am very much in love with a LOT of things.

So to honour the occasion, I put together a playlist of some of my favourite love songs. They range from your typical melody about love, to unrequited and everything in between.

Cupid's Playlist

1. Somebody to Love - Queen
Because everybody wants somebody. I love Queen, and anything to do with Freddie Mercury turns me into a giddy crooner who has the urge to hit impossible high notes.

2. I Believe In a Thing Called Love - The Darkness
Speaking of people hitting high pitched notes-- The Darkness take it to a whole. Nuvva. Level.

3. Your Song - Elton John
This song is another classic that I think should play at everyone's wedding ever, just because it's simple and gorgeous. And if I can't convince you, I'll make sure it's at least playing at mine.

4.We Will Still Need A Song - Hawksley Workman
Everything Hawksley touches has a life of it's own, and this song is no different. You won't find another like it, and it's the only love song I know that starts off with a glorious f-bomb.

5. Make You Feel My Love - Adele (covering Bob Dylan)
If you haven't heard Adele, you need to! She has the amazing diction and subtlety that you need to cover something that was done by Bobby D himself. Simply gorgeous...

6. Grace Kelly - Mika
This song is more addictive than your average dose of methadone, Mika is adorable, and he has a voice to boot. Unrequited love and the things we do for it...Sigh.

7. All is Love - Karen O and the Kids
I like this one because it's a playful, innocent love. The kids have for their parents, or the kind I have for Telly.

8. It Ain't Me, Babe - Johnny Cash and June Carter
This song is amazing because it's all about what love isn't. "You say you're lookin' for someone who's never weak, but always strong. To protect you and defend you whether you are right or wrong, but it ain't me babe."

9. Lullaby (Goodnight, my Angel) - Billy Joel
The first time you hear this, it's almost emotionally crippling. Is it a love song? A lullaby? A tune of mourning? Billy Joel's voice weaves a story of devotion and separation that gets me EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

10. Firework by Katy Perry
A love song about learning to embrace yourself. I think self respect is just as important as any other kind of love you can have...And this song is all about celebrating who you are. Plus, it's a blast to belt out in the shower, driving in the car, anywhere, everywhere.

Now that you know my picks for some great V-Day tunes, what are some of yours?

(Red) Velvet Goldmine

I'm very VERY pumped for my first post here! If you're reading this, it means YOU ROCK! I don't want to gush, so instead of crying like an Oscar winner, I'm going to get on with the show!

My roommates and I are fairly health conscious. We eat our veggies, we choose lean ground beef when it comes to burgers, and we only indulge in REAL dessert every now and again.

A few weeks ago my roommate Rebekah turned 21, she knew exactly what special treat she wanted to celebrate with... A two tiered red velvet cake, smothered in cream cheese icing and topped with toasted coconut. As the resident baker, the idea of the insanely decadent cake made me giddy.

I settled on the recipe but soon found red velvet has a will of it's own. When I ran out of a key ingredient (OIL!) I had to substitute. My hands got stained with the food colouring. In the midst of the cake batter battlefield (say that 10x fast!), I burned my thumb on the corner of the pan. You know what? It was totally worth it.


Red Velvet Cake avec Cream Cheese Frosting
(Adapted from A Farmgirl's Dabbles)

Cake:
2 1/2 cups cake flour, plus more for pan dusting
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups melted butter (in microwave or on the stove top)
2 eggs (room temperature, if you can)
4 tbsp. red food coloring
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp white vinegar

Frosting:
16 oz. (two bricks) light cream cheese, at room temperature
1 c. butter, at room temperature
4 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

•Preheat oven to 350°. Butter two 9″ x 2″ round cake pans. Dust with flour, tap away extra, set aside.
•In a medium bowl, whisk together cake flour, salt, and cocoa.

•In a separate larger bowl beat sugar and melted butter on medium speed until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated after each addition. •Add food colouring and vanilla then beat until combined. Add the flour mixture, alternating with buttermilk, scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.

•In a small bowl, whisk together baking soda and vinegar. Enjoy the chemical reaction, and remember the one time you saw it at a science fair as a kid. Then add it to the batter, and beat for 10 seconds.

•Divide the batter between the two prepped cake pans. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.
•Transfer to a wire rack to cool in the pans for 5 minutes. Remove from the pans, and return to the rack, top side up, to cool completely.

Frosting:
•Cream together cream cheese and butter on medium high until combined. Beat in the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until fluffy. Add in the vanilla. Sample for quality control, MMM.

•Spread 1 1/2 cups of frosting on top of one of the cake layers. Place second layer on top and smother. SMOTHER WITH ABANDON.

• DEVOUR! Or you can store the cake, covered in the fridge...

We ended up having it for dessert every night for an entire week, so it keeps very well. Take it out about 10-15 minutes prior to serving to take the chill off. Yummmm!