Exercising the posting muscles
So I just worked all weekend towards a today deadline, only to find out last night that the deadline was extended to next Monday.
But despite that, I'm in a surprisingly good mood. Or maybe because of it--I got an enormous amount done, and don't have it hanging over my head any more. And I just spent some time uploading about 50,000 Legend of the Seeker icons. Oh show. So ridiculously sublime, and so sublimely ridiculous, and so AMAZINGLY PRETTY. It was a fun 2 1/2 weeks of being fannish about a show that's still on the air before the cancellation news hit, but I'll always have two seasons of cracky glory. There might be a picspam soon. You have been warned.
* * * * *
Also, I have leftovers for lunch.
Bay-Scented Chicken with Figs
(Adapted from this to avoid various onion allergies and olive and caper hatreds.)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- One whole chicken, cut into pieces
- Salt and pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 4 garlic cloves, smashed with the side of a knife
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 8 dried figs, quartered
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Sprinkle the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a heavy saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken pieces, skin side down, and brown, about 5 minutes. Turn and brown the other sides, 2-3 more minutes. Remove the chicken to a platter and lower the heat to medium. Add the garlic and cumin and saute until they release their scent, about 30 seconds. Add the flour and cook, stirring, until it has lost its rawness, 2 minutes. Add the wine and stir or whisk until the sauce is smooth. Add the chicken broth in 2 or 3 batches, stirring or whisking after each addition.
Add the figs, bay leaves, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste. Return the chicken to the pan and cook, covered, until the chicken is done, about 40 minutes, turning once halfway through cooking. Remove the bay leaves and garlic and serve the chicken pieces with generous spoonfuls of the sauce.
I served this on fresh egg fettuccine, with roasted asparagus on the side, and it was fantastic.
* * * * *
Thursday night TV group finished Babylon 5 and moved on to:
The Middleman, which I loved, and couldn't quite believe aired on ABC Family of all places. For all of its comic book exaggeration and fun absurdity, what really engaged me about the show was the emotional maturity of the characters, who are sometimes young and uncertain, but know a bad thing when they see it, and value their friendships. I loved Lacey and Wendy's friendship, with its relationship advice and clothes borrowing; I loved Wendy and the Middleman's fondness for each other, so sarcastic on her side and so earnest on his; I loved Lacey and the Middleman's flirtation and the way it was the only thing that could make him uncomfortable; I loved the zombie fish and the sorority ghosts and the evil alternate universe with the beards. What a fun show; I'm so sorry there isn't more of it.
We're only 4 episodes in to Miracles. So far I am enjoying it most for its style--the claustrophobic framing, the deliberately frumpy wardrobes, the washed-out colors and shadowy moodiness. There are things about it that are strongly reminiscent of The X-Files, but there is an important difference: no actual monsters so far, just mysteries of faith and the human heart and good and evil. There have been points where it has tipped over from portentous to pretentious, but it seems to be about the slow building of dread and wonder--which is, actually, why it isn't too hard to see why it was cancelled. The pacing is very slow for an American network show.
* * * * *
Via
cofax7, here's a post where, in the process of ranting about the evil, copyright-destroying ways of fanfic, Diana Gabaldon gets upset about people writing about her characters having sex and somehow fails to burst into flames of hypocrisy.
* * * * *
Murphy's dog walker took a picture of him with his group at Ft. Funston, and I love his happy, goofy expression:
His back legs are still a little clumsy (the left one more than the right), but he's perfectly mobile and perfectly happy. We've even been running again, which is good, because I was getting out of shape. There was just no way I could put the running shoes on and go out without him; that would have been cruel.
This entry was originally posted at http://danceswithwords.dreamwidth.org/146470.html (
comments). Comment at either site.
But despite that, I'm in a surprisingly good mood. Or maybe because of it--I got an enormous amount done, and don't have it hanging over my head any more. And I just spent some time uploading about 50,000 Legend of the Seeker icons. Oh show. So ridiculously sublime, and so sublimely ridiculous, and so AMAZINGLY PRETTY. It was a fun 2 1/2 weeks of being fannish about a show that's still on the air before the cancellation news hit, but I'll always have two seasons of cracky glory. There might be a picspam soon. You have been warned.
* * * * *
Also, I have leftovers for lunch.
Bay-Scented Chicken with Figs
(Adapted from this to avoid various onion allergies and olive and caper hatreds.)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- One whole chicken, cut into pieces
- Salt and pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 4 garlic cloves, smashed with the side of a knife
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 8 dried figs, quartered
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Sprinkle the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a heavy saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken pieces, skin side down, and brown, about 5 minutes. Turn and brown the other sides, 2-3 more minutes. Remove the chicken to a platter and lower the heat to medium. Add the garlic and cumin and saute until they release their scent, about 30 seconds. Add the flour and cook, stirring, until it has lost its rawness, 2 minutes. Add the wine and stir or whisk until the sauce is smooth. Add the chicken broth in 2 or 3 batches, stirring or whisking after each addition.
Add the figs, bay leaves, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste. Return the chicken to the pan and cook, covered, until the chicken is done, about 40 minutes, turning once halfway through cooking. Remove the bay leaves and garlic and serve the chicken pieces with generous spoonfuls of the sauce.
I served this on fresh egg fettuccine, with roasted asparagus on the side, and it was fantastic.
* * * * *
Thursday night TV group finished Babylon 5 and moved on to:
The Middleman, which I loved, and couldn't quite believe aired on ABC Family of all places. For all of its comic book exaggeration and fun absurdity, what really engaged me about the show was the emotional maturity of the characters, who are sometimes young and uncertain, but know a bad thing when they see it, and value their friendships. I loved Lacey and Wendy's friendship, with its relationship advice and clothes borrowing; I loved Wendy and the Middleman's fondness for each other, so sarcastic on her side and so earnest on his; I loved Lacey and the Middleman's flirtation and the way it was the only thing that could make him uncomfortable; I loved the zombie fish and the sorority ghosts and the evil alternate universe with the beards. What a fun show; I'm so sorry there isn't more of it.
We're only 4 episodes in to Miracles. So far I am enjoying it most for its style--the claustrophobic framing, the deliberately frumpy wardrobes, the washed-out colors and shadowy moodiness. There are things about it that are strongly reminiscent of The X-Files, but there is an important difference: no actual monsters so far, just mysteries of faith and the human heart and good and evil. There have been points where it has tipped over from portentous to pretentious, but it seems to be about the slow building of dread and wonder--which is, actually, why it isn't too hard to see why it was cancelled. The pacing is very slow for an American network show.
* * * * *
Via
cofax7, here's a post where, in the process of ranting about the evil, copyright-destroying ways of fanfic, Diana Gabaldon gets upset about people writing about her characters having sex and somehow fails to burst into flames of hypocrisy.
* * * * *
Murphy's dog walker took a picture of him with his group at Ft. Funston, and I love his happy, goofy expression:
His back legs are still a little clumsy (the left one more than the right), but he's perfectly mobile and perfectly happy. We've even been running again, which is good, because I was getting out of shape. There was just no way I could put the running shoes on and go out without him; that would have been cruel.
This entry was originally posted at http://danceswithwords.dreamwidth.org/146470.html (
comments). Comment at either site.