1.21.2011
Sometimes I draw weird things
If you're looking for a VIP pass of how my mind works, here is the entire tour:
That is all.
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| Pencil lines |
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| Digital 'rendering' |
This sort of came together during a text message conversation I had over Christmas. Something about if sharks had thumbs what would humanity fight them off with. It also had something to do with there being a Lethal Weapon marathon on television. It also may have had something to do with my aunt imitating my hand gestures in the Chinese Cultural Center, saying something about lobster claws and velociraptor hands, me combining words and creating the last hope for mankind against the sharks with opposable thumbs, jet packs and nuclear armaments. The lobsteraptor army is lead by the Gary Busey Lobsteraptor, ruthless mercenary.
That is all.
1.20.2011
Paprika garlic chicken - so great
Upon returning from the holidays, and rather inspired by a new Jamie Oliver cookbook I received for Christmas, I decided to cook my first whole roast chicken. I found this recipe whilst browsing magazines between these weird spa treatments (well, they were rather normal, but they were weird... at the same time). I decided to turn the other cheek when it was from Martha Stewart. I especially don't mind now because it was so damn delicious!
Serves 8 to 10 (if you made two chickens - I only made one)- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Coarse salt
- 2 whole chickens (3 to 3 1/2 pounds each)
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 8 heads garlic, halved horizontally
Directions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix together paprika, oregano, and 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon salt. Place chickens, breast side up, on a rimmed baking sheet, and tuck wings under. Tie legs of each bird together with kitchen twine. Pat chickens dry with paper towels. Rub skin of each with 1 tablespoon oil, then with paprika mixture. Stuff 2 garlic-head halves into each cavity.
- Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees. Roast chickens for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, and baste with pan juices. Scatter remaining garlic-head halves around chicken; drizzle garlic with remaining 1/4 cup oil, then turn cut side down on sheet. Roast for 10 minutes. Tent birds loosely with foil. Roast until juices run clear and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of each thigh reaches 165 degrees, about 30 minutes more. Uncover chickens, and let rest for 10 minutes before serving with roasted garlic.
The roast garlic was sooo good. And the chicken made amazing leftover sandwiches! I enjoyed a couple on squirrley bread with a salad of tomatoes, lettuce and pea shoots and some quinoa. Anyways, I highly recommend it!
I also made some amazing white chocolate cranberry oat cookies - but I'm unsure of where the recipe came from. So delicious!
1.10.2011
Giraffe and a new year.
Well folks, 2011 is finally here. I've told myself I'm doing a lot of things differently in these coming 12 months, so we shall see how that goes.Just a short post today, as I need to hit the books before bedtime to get the ball rolling.
Here's a giraffe I made at the request of a friend of mine for her boyfriend's cousin. See some 'in progress' posts here and here. I had some problems planning and assembling this one. It seemed to take ages and ages to finish.
Due to the fact that sewing machines still put the fear of god in me, it was mostly stitched by hand - but thankfully my mom stepped in to help sew up the arms and legs with her intense seamstress skills on the day before I needed to ship it!
I used minky fabric for the body and felt for the details. The minky was horrifying to work with. It sheds and is slippery to sew with. But it ended up looking alright, thank goodness! I monogramed an M on one of the hooves for the eventual recipient. The lower legs and belly are filled with rice that I tied in bits of nylon stocking to give it a bit of weight. Unfortunately, I think I overstuffed it a little bit. I would have liked the legs to hang down a little more freely. As I am generally pleased with the body shape, I am not too pleased with the face. I had not devised a solid way to build the horns or make the nose a little more... nose-like. I do like the eyes (from Suncatcher) and the eyelashes.Some handy things I learned with this one:
- Build complex felties out of paper first, serves as a 'measure twice, cut once' substitute and creates a handy pattern as well
- Never work with minky ever, ever again
- Rice works MUCH better than tapioca pearls if you want a little weight
- Rice works even better when put in bits of an old stocking tied at the ends to keep things nice and tidy
- To, once again, not leave these kinds of things to the last minute
- Giraffes look sort of dumb without their horns
I hope everyone had an absolutely fantastic break. I certainly did - though coming back to my empty basement suite was a bit of a shock and I'm thankful I have people here I can bum around with every so often or else I'd get awful lonely.
Some classmates from the film program and I went to see a Taxi Driver/Raging Bull double bill at the Cinematheque the other night. It was so fantastic seeing Taxi Driver properly and seeing Raging Bull for the first time. But walking out of the theater after that much Scorsese was a little disorienting. I'm also very, very excited that the Cinematheque is getting in a ton of Chaplin feature films in on 35mm and showing them throughout January and February! Unfortunately, due to my measly student funds, I'll have to pick and choose which of these I attend. It'll be like trying to pick which child you like the most.
Other news I'll sum up here: I'm currently in an obsessive Harry Potter state, I cooked my first whole chicken last week, that was pretty exciting, the word of the day today was infarction and I've started studying chemistry on my own time to make myself feel less dumb.
Anyways, that's that. Hope all is just peachy with everyone and the new year is treating you all very well!
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