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I had a latte this morning and followed it with cherry vanilla granola in milk ... now my stomach has that unpleasant full feeling even though I haven't really eaten anything. Ugh.
Yesterday I had lunch with a friend at Sushi Land, which is apparently a chain. It was one of those places with a conveyor belt. I normally avoid such places like the plague, but he suggested it and I didn't know it was that kind of sushi place until we got there. It was OK; the best thing about it was that it was very economical. Plus it was packed to the gills with people, which meant that fresh sushi was constantly being prepared. One of the reasons conveyor belt sushi places seem so iffy (other than that sushi doesn't belong on a conveyor belt, period, and the quality of the fish is lower) is because when there's not a lot of people, some sad-looking plate of sushi is going around and around on the belt, and you have no idea how long it's been sitting there. Ugh. But with that many people, at least there wasn't that to worry about. Depending on the sushi, they were on colored plates that denoted the cost of that particular plate (ranging from $1 to $3 -- or you could order special sushi such as uni that doesn't get placed on the conveyor, for additional cost). You could also order things like a small bowl of tempura udon (for $3), which we did. They also had things like fried calamari and edamame on the belt. For the cost ($25 for the both of us), it was OK, but if the prices had been any higher -- no thanks.
The other day at Whole Foods I saw a basket of beautiful-looking Meyer lemons and couldn't resist. I bought two of them, and have been wracking my brain ever since as to what to do with them. I don't feel much like baking, but otherwise they'd just rot and spoil, and I can't have that! I think I'm going to make these cookies with them. The problem is, that only takes care of the zest ... I'll still have actual lemon juice/pulp to contend with! Have you ever used Meyer lemons? What's your favorite recipe?
Speaking of desserts, yesterday I was at Half-Price Books to see if I could get any ideas about books to request from PBS, and wandered over to the cooking section. (I've got cookbooks on my PBS list, but the chances of someone sending that heavy an item are slim.) Here I found a hidden treasure! Desserts by Pierre Hermé! It's out of print, and while I could order it used from somewhere online, I was super excited to have found it on my own. It's the best thing about used book stores.
I've been watching a number of movies, primarly the ones that have Oscars significance since the nominees have been announced. I was surprised, but also not, by Gran Torino's shut out. Surprised: It's Clint Eastwood. How could they snub Clint Eastwood? Unsurprised: I actually liked it, which of course means it can't win anything. Also it got mixed reviews from critics, but that's true of The Reader as well, and yet somehow, out of the blue, it got a Best Picture nom.
Anyway, so I've now seen:
- The Reader: I enjoyed it. Kate Winslet is very good in it, if only because she seems so completely unlike Kate Winslet in it. I mean, even her body is totally different. I know she's had kids since the last time we saw her naked chest -- I think -- but it goes beyond that. Isn't having kids supposed to make your chest bigger? Her boobs in this movie are TINY. If I didn't know any better I'd swear they used someone else's boobs. Plus I saw some photos of her at the recent SAG awards and her chest looks as impressive as always. But her body, her mannerisms, everything, are quite unlike her usual self. I don't think it was as great a change as Charlize Theron in Monster, but still. I just hope being nominated for this movie rather than Revolutionary Road doesn't hurt Kate's chances for an Oscar!
- Revolutionary Road: OK, so seeing this was pointless as the Academy apparently hated it. Still, I wanted to see it for Kate and Leo. Other than sometimes feeling like "ooh, this is such a great, meaty movie for us actors," I liked it. I thought Leo was fantastic in it, and deserved some of the accolades that went to Kate.
- Changeling: Angelina Jolie's character was super annoying. I know it's based off a true story (what a wild one, btw), and thus the character was what she was, but god, she was annoying. Apparently Angelina said something to the effect that she found it really hard to relate to the character because she was so passive. Yeah. Anyway, she was fine in this though I don't think it deserved any major accolades. I'm not really sure she even deserved to be nominated, particularly over that other actress who's unknown to me, but had won a bunch of critics awards and also the Golden Globe?
- Doubt: I haven't actually finished this yet, I'm about 40 minutes in. I just love Meryl Streep to death. She's just so fantastic in anything.
- Milk: Also haven't actually finished yet. I'm only 20 minutes in, but already it was starting to depress me, so I didn't go on. I will finish it eventually.
So eventually I'll have seen 4 of the 5 Best Picture nominees. I'm undecided on whether I really want to see Frost/Nixon. Maybe. I'd also still like to see Rachel Getting Married, to see Anne Hathaway's performance, but no matter how good she is, I must reiterate my belief that for her to get a Best Actress Oscar before Kate Winslet would be a crime.
Yesterday I had lunch with a friend at Sushi Land, which is apparently a chain. It was one of those places with a conveyor belt. I normally avoid such places like the plague, but he suggested it and I didn't know it was that kind of sushi place until we got there. It was OK; the best thing about it was that it was very economical. Plus it was packed to the gills with people, which meant that fresh sushi was constantly being prepared. One of the reasons conveyor belt sushi places seem so iffy (other than that sushi doesn't belong on a conveyor belt, period, and the quality of the fish is lower) is because when there's not a lot of people, some sad-looking plate of sushi is going around and around on the belt, and you have no idea how long it's been sitting there. Ugh. But with that many people, at least there wasn't that to worry about. Depending on the sushi, they were on colored plates that denoted the cost of that particular plate (ranging from $1 to $3 -- or you could order special sushi such as uni that doesn't get placed on the conveyor, for additional cost). You could also order things like a small bowl of tempura udon (for $3), which we did. They also had things like fried calamari and edamame on the belt. For the cost ($25 for the both of us), it was OK, but if the prices had been any higher -- no thanks.
The other day at Whole Foods I saw a basket of beautiful-looking Meyer lemons and couldn't resist. I bought two of them, and have been wracking my brain ever since as to what to do with them. I don't feel much like baking, but otherwise they'd just rot and spoil, and I can't have that! I think I'm going to make these cookies with them. The problem is, that only takes care of the zest ... I'll still have actual lemon juice/pulp to contend with! Have you ever used Meyer lemons? What's your favorite recipe?
Speaking of desserts, yesterday I was at Half-Price Books to see if I could get any ideas about books to request from PBS, and wandered over to the cooking section. (I've got cookbooks on my PBS list, but the chances of someone sending that heavy an item are slim.) Here I found a hidden treasure! Desserts by Pierre Hermé! It's out of print, and while I could order it used from somewhere online, I was super excited to have found it on my own. It's the best thing about used book stores.
I've been watching a number of movies, primarly the ones that have Oscars significance since the nominees have been announced. I was surprised, but also not, by Gran Torino's shut out. Surprised: It's Clint Eastwood. How could they snub Clint Eastwood? Unsurprised: I actually liked it, which of course means it can't win anything. Also it got mixed reviews from critics, but that's true of The Reader as well, and yet somehow, out of the blue, it got a Best Picture nom.
Anyway, so I've now seen:
- The Reader: I enjoyed it. Kate Winslet is very good in it, if only because she seems so completely unlike Kate Winslet in it. I mean, even her body is totally different. I know she's had kids since the last time we saw her naked chest -- I think -- but it goes beyond that. Isn't having kids supposed to make your chest bigger? Her boobs in this movie are TINY. If I didn't know any better I'd swear they used someone else's boobs. Plus I saw some photos of her at the recent SAG awards and her chest looks as impressive as always. But her body, her mannerisms, everything, are quite unlike her usual self. I don't think it was as great a change as Charlize Theron in Monster, but still. I just hope being nominated for this movie rather than Revolutionary Road doesn't hurt Kate's chances for an Oscar!
- Revolutionary Road: OK, so seeing this was pointless as the Academy apparently hated it. Still, I wanted to see it for Kate and Leo. Other than sometimes feeling like "ooh, this is such a great, meaty movie for us actors," I liked it. I thought Leo was fantastic in it, and deserved some of the accolades that went to Kate.
- Changeling: Angelina Jolie's character was super annoying. I know it's based off a true story (what a wild one, btw), and thus the character was what she was, but god, she was annoying. Apparently Angelina said something to the effect that she found it really hard to relate to the character because she was so passive. Yeah. Anyway, she was fine in this though I don't think it deserved any major accolades. I'm not really sure she even deserved to be nominated, particularly over that other actress who's unknown to me, but had won a bunch of critics awards and also the Golden Globe?
- Doubt: I haven't actually finished this yet, I'm about 40 minutes in. I just love Meryl Streep to death. She's just so fantastic in anything.
- Milk: Also haven't actually finished yet. I'm only 20 minutes in, but already it was starting to depress me, so I didn't go on. I will finish it eventually.
So eventually I'll have seen 4 of the 5 Best Picture nominees. I'm undecided on whether I really want to see Frost/Nixon. Maybe. I'd also still like to see Rachel Getting Married, to see Anne Hathaway's performance, but no matter how good she is, I must reiterate my belief that for her to get a Best Actress Oscar before Kate Winslet would be a crime.
