Lights, Camera, Action

We went to the movies with some friends this weekend.   And the movie we saw left me ..... well confused.   We saw Tinker Tailor Solider Spy.   I'm all for a good spy movie full of Brits - and Colin Firth to boot so why not.  My only concern was that it might be violent.   My only concern should of been that I might not know what in the world was going on.  Some in our party thought this was the worse movie they had ever seen, I will not make that statement.  I enjoyed the acting and to be honest I think they movie would of made more sense had I read the book.   Which I just might try and do.   There were parts in the movie were it felt like things were skipped.  I mean we have all been in movies where we read the book and thought - they left out this - but we can still roll with the movie because we read the book.   This I believe is the situation with this.  Gary Oldham was good - not sure if he should win best actor for the Oscar good but he was good.  And Colin was his usual adorable self.  Not worth the $15 dollars but I would not discourage others from renting this one.   Who knows you might get it.

Also, this weekend we rented Moneyball.  I must preface this by saying:  not a huge Brad Pitt fan, not a huge Jonah Hill fan, not a huge baseball fan.   Why, you might ask, would I rent this movie?   Its based on a true story which I love and everyone said it was a great little story.  I enjoyed it (remember this is shortly after the Tinker Toy fiasco) and I thought it gave some great insight into the world of sports namely baseball.  We paid $1 for it and it was definitely worth that.

As long as we are talking movies I will tell you some I've seen lately that I did enjoy.

The Descendants - yes it is set in Hawaii and yes George is in it in all his glory so really how could I lose?   But honestly it is a great story.   You laugh and you cry a little in this one.   And I of course loved the music as well.

On rental I would recommend:   Super 8 (great kinda close encounter of the third kind meets stand by me) and Mr Poppers Penguins (not anything like the book but a good little film with no violence and penguins!)

Ok that's all I got for now....enjoy!

Maui (Aloha Friday)

 For those of you who know me you are probably wondering where the Maui pictures are.......
We were in Maui a couple of weeks ago - it seems like a lifetime ago.   We have been lucky enough to go with my parents to their timeshare for the last 8 or so years.   It appears however this years trip might be our last.   We've had a good run and loved most every minute of every trip.   This trip was no different.   We've grown to have favorites that we have to go to as well as try new places.

There are limited pictures of the trip.  My camera was acting funny and some of the pictures are less than wonderful - not sure what's going on.  I have others on my phone that I will pull off and post later but for now......


We have arrived safely and in one piece!




First stop.....Dad's rental golf clubs





Fruit basket from Dennis.  So funny that's it full of "non tropical" fruit




Sunset the first night




Apparently the TSA agents were in my luggage




Heard these existed but never seen one - he (or she I guess) was outside on the sidewalk




Of course he know wants one for home.....would be great to take naps




She is at the interest to the "Mall" and in all the years I've beent there I've never noticed something......do you see it?





This was at the Fairmont Kea Lani - how bad do I want this on my wall at home?




Big Beach





Sunset at Nick's Fishmarket - had a very generous gift card from my boss as a thank you for a project I'd done

 



The lifeguards are here - no need to fear

 I am so grateful for all the trips I've had to this lovely paradise and I hope this is not my last.   I also am so grateful that my husband and parents get along - I know there are many people who aren't not so blessed.  And when things get tough this is what we should focus on - not the small things that don't matter and that we won't remember years from now or even days from now.

A Hui Ho!

Wednesday Wisdom

I know, I know, technically it's Thursday - but it's been a busy week and I just saw this.



via Pinterest
 (what did we do before Pinterest? - well we probably did a lot more productive things come to think of it - ha!)



Gung Hay Fat Choy!



via here

Happy Lunar New Year and how fun is it that it's the year of the dragon.  This would be a great year to have a baby.

But out your oranges and stuff your wallet with one dollar bills.  However don't do any cleaning or sweeping.   Don't want to sweep away the good luck.

Wednesday Wisdom

via here

I have returned from the beautiful island of Maui.  Pictures and details to come soon.......

Cooking catch up

So I know I have been MIA for a while but life so far this year has been busy and I've been fighting this stupid cold.   So to make up for my absence you get an extra long post!

First up is a veggie soup I made for lunch last week but I'm just now getting the pictures downloaded.  Just used what I had on hand which was the following (if you want exact measurements you aren't going to like this but this is how it came together):

red onion
5-6 - might of been more - they were skinny
couple of hand fulls of mushrooms
half a bunch of purple kale (warning - this will turn the soup a mucky color)
cabbage - a big slice
corn from the freezer that I put in there for just this reason (gave it a nice sweetness)

Just put it all in the big pot on the stove and let it cook away and then I added a quart of chicken broth and a little dill seed and let it simmer for about an hour.   G's comment as he walked in the kitchen "that looks healthy - what's it for?"  I think he breathed a sigh of relief when I said it was for my lunch.

I also have beets roasting in the oven.   Just peel and cube and toss with some EVOO and put in the oven  at 350.  And let them bake, and bake, and bake.   They are great on their own or in a salad of anything really.  They almost become sweet.

Also, Friday I made a wonderful new one pot meal that I will share here as well.
It's called Spiced Chicken and Rice and the original recipe can be found  here on the Williams Sonoma blog.
I made some modifications based on what I had in the pantry.   This is the kind of meal you can tailor to what you have on hand which I love.

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbs. canola oil
• 2. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 2 Tbs. minced fresh ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp. curry powder
• 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
• Ginger sherry* as needed - maybe 1/4 cup
• 1 bunch scallions (green and white parts)
• about 8 mushrooms
• 1 cup long-grain rice, such as basmati
• Finely grated zest and juice of 1 half lemon
• 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
• 1/2 cup roasted almonds, coarsely chopped

Directions:

Brown the chicken
In a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Add the chicken, season with salt and pepper, and sauté until browned on all sides, about 4 minutes.  Add the mushrooms and most of the scallions and continue cooking until mushrooms are browned as well.  Transfer the chicken mixture to a plate.

Make the rice
Add the ginger and curry powder to the pan and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the broth, scraping up any browned bits from the pan bottom, and bring to a boil. Add the rice, raisins, lemon zest and juice, and 1 tsp. salt.

Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the pan. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, cover, and cook until the rice is tender and the chicken is opaque throughout, about 20 minutes. I will be honest that I had to add more chicken broth and some ginger sherry here to have enough liquid to cook the rice. Add the rest of the scallions cover and let stand for about 10 minutes. Sprinkle the parsley and almonds over the rice, stir to combine and serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6.

 

*Ginger sherry - cooking sherry that I keep in a jar in the fridge with peeled and sliced ginger in it. 

 

Great thing about this meal is that is was more than enough for two meals.   I served it with steamed spinach which I thought was perfect to take away a little of the heat that comes with the dish.  

Fresh Start



via here

Hauoli Makahiki Hou!

Here's to a new year and a new start - and hoping the Mayan's just ran out of ink