Coraline.

I would say that, ever since we signed up for Blockbuster's online rental program, we watch at least three movies per week. Now that's not so bad, considering I have no money, and the boyfriend and I both worked hard to create a super rad home theater complete with projector and movie screen... and PS3, and a universal remote, and surround sound...

So a few days ago, we receive Coraline in the mail. "Hooray!" I thought. "An adult friendly children's movie, based on an award winning children's book." My dear friend Sydney saw the film in the theater and told me she was shocked at how terrifying it was. I assumed she was just being a big baby. The movie was based on a children's book, it had sweet little Dakota Fanning... I mean really. How scary could it possibly be?

But she was right! The whole movie is a beautifully animated nightmare. It's disturbing, creepy, and downright terrifying at times! Even Michael had to acknowledge that he was a little disturbed during some scenes. I could be wrong, but, I felt like this movie was marketed as a child friendly film, when it should have been marketed as a scary movie. Nobody in their right mind should allow a child younger than 12 or so to see this movie.

The story is creepy, the animation is creepy, the characters are creepy, their movement is creepy and their voices are creepy. Despite all the creepiness, the movie is beautiful though. Very colorful (most of the time) and beautifully animated. It was a deeply disturbing, moving work of art. Like a nightmare of a schizophrenic artist or something. Worth seeing, definitely, but only for people 12 and up.

Well, I was wrong.

Apparently, you can grow corn plants on a patio, in a pot...
















"Oh, sure," I told my eager boyfriend. "But will they produce corn?"


Yes. Apparently, they will.

Cinnamon Buns with Cream Cheese Frosting

Well, I did it. I created the ultimate cinnamon bun recipe (are they rolls? Or buns?). This is based on my own personal taste, obviously, but the boyfriend gave it a thumbs up without any constructive criticism. And I can tell you, if there is something wrong with what I make, he will not hesitate to inform me just where and when I went wrong. He's very endearing like that. Some aspects of the cinnamon bun are non-negotiable, like cream cheese frosting. Other aspects, such as the consistency of the dough or the amount of cinnamon used, are up for debate. I have tried many cinnamon bun/roll recipes in the past, and I find that often they too closely resemble a bread... when really, they should resemble more of a bready cake, in my opinion. There is a difference. You see, I like my cinnamon buns the same way I like my men: Soft, sweet, and rich. HA. Three points for that one. Okay anyway, after sampling a small roll fresh from the oven, my teeth hurt and I had to fight off the compulsion to eat an apple and brush my teeth. That's called success, my friends. And although the frosting may look like hot mayonnaise, I swear it doesn't taste like it.


Cinnamon Buns with Cream Cheese Frosting


For the dough:

1 c. milk
1/4 c. butter; melted
4 1/4 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 env. active dry yeast
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp oil (vegetable, canola, lighter olive oil, or whatever)
1/4 c. honey

For the filling:

3/4 c. brown sugar
2 tbsp cinnamon
1/4 c. butter; softened

For the frosting:

4 oz. cream cheese; softened
3/4 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. butter; softened
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp honey

1. Heat the milk in the microwave, approx. 45 seconds, to warm it. Add the yeast, after making sure the milk isn't too hot (it should be tepid, or a little warmer than tepid). Let sit for approx. 10 mins, then stir to dissolve.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the melted butter, sugar, eggs, salt, oil, and honey. Add the yeast and milk, and mix well. Slowly incorporate the flour, one cup at a time, until the dough is formed.

3. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and knead approx. 10 mins or until a smooth, elastic dough forms. Dough should not be sticky, but not too dry either. Let the dough rise in a clean bowl, covered, about 1 1/2 - 2 hours. (Note: this is a dense, sticky dough. It won't rise like bread dough, ie the focaccia dough in a previous entry).

4. After the dough has risen, roll out on a floured surface into a 1/2-in. thick rectangle. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spread 1/4 c. of softened butter or margine on the surface of the dough.

5. In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over the surface of the dough, leaving a 1/2-in. border around all edges.

6. Beginning with one edge, roll the dough into a log. Cut the dough in 1 1/2-in. thick slices, and arrange in a greased rectangular casserole dish, leaving about an inch of space around the buns.

7. Bake approx. 22-28 mins, or until the tops just begin to brown.

8. To make the frosting, mix together the softened butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and honey. Spread over the cinnamon buns when they have cooled some.


Yields: approx. 8-10 buns.


I haven't tried this, but I assume that you could refrigerate the buns in the casserole dish overnight, and bake them in the morning. I personally refrigerated them this way for several hours before baking and they turned out fine.

Leftovers can be stored in the fridge, covered, for a few days.Feel free to microwave them before eating.

Creamy Potato and Leek Soup

I actually only had potato and leek soup for the first time a few years ago. My cousin Caroline and I were in Aberdeen, Scotland. Having been beaten down by the exchange rate the past week, soup du jour was the only thing we felt comfortable affording most of the time when eating out in the U.K.

After a long day, and an even longer search for an affordable dinner, we finally made reservations at a little Italian place tucked away from the strip that had soup du jour. To put things into perspective, soup du jour was usually around three or four pounds stirling (approximately $6.00-$8.00 USD). Anything else on the menu would be closer to ten pounds stirling (approximately $20.00 USD), usually more. Now you understand why soup was so very satisfying.

So, about an hour into our wait for a table, we were fully irritated with everything. We had had a long day, with a few mishaps, a few disappointments, a few irritations. It was late, we were hungry, and we were very annoyed at the lack of restaurants in such a busy part of town. Especially because the only one we had found was making us wait another hour for a table. An older couple who was also waiting began to chat with us, insisting on buying us both a drink. They were charming, and I don't know if it was the company or the alcohol that began to cheer us up. Not soon after, we were called to our table, where I of course ordered the soup du jour - which was potato and leek soup. We ate quickly, given that it was well past 10:00 pm, and thanked the couple on our way out for turning our evening around. Not the best story, but, one I still remember fondly. This is the story of my first time eating potato and leek soup... fondly remembered, because of the friendly couple who saved our moods that evening.

The following is the recipe I created specifically to recreate the soup I had that night in Aberdeen. I like this recipe because it's simple, cheap, and fast. It doesn't get much better than that.


Creamy Potato and Leek Soup

2 Russet potatoes
1 leek
1 can chicken stock
1/2 c. whipping cream
1 c. milk
1 t salt

optional but recommended: 1/2 c. grated white cheese of choice (parmesan, cheddar, etc.)

Peel and cube the potatoes. Rough chop the light green and white parts of the leek. In a large saucepan, combine the potatoes, leek, and stock. Bring to a boil, and simmer until the potatoes are soft, approximately 30 minutes. Using a whisk, stir the soup to break apart the potatoes. It's okay if the soup is a little chunky, but it shouldn't look like mashed potatoes.

Stir in the cream, milk, and salt. Continue to simmer for another 10 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in the grated cheese. Done!

Yields: approx. two large servings



Notes: I recommend you make only what you need, because the leftovers don't keep very well. They taste okay, but the starch absorbs most of the liquid and the next day you'll have soupy mashed potatoes instead of actual soup.

Santa Monica

Welcome to Santa Monica! Famous for its shopping, dining, and of course, homeless people! According to my friend, a local transplant and fellow Bay Area native, people in Santa Monica think they're better than the city of Los Angeles. She says they don't consider themselves a part of L.A. and she has been corrected more than once that in fact, this isn't Los Angeles.... this is Santa Monica. Little do they know that everyone else thinks they're still in L.A., albeit a slightly nicer part.

Yes, Santa Monica is nicer than downtown L.A., this is true. The weather is also more comfortable, and I myself was very surprised at the fact that I was actually cold as night fell. It was a pleasant change from the sweltering heat of The Valley. Here is how the city compares: Santa Monica: better than North Hollywood, worse than Beverly Hills.

We'll consider it somewhere in the middle. I did enjoy their famous promenade, which was pretty much an outdoor mall. But who doesn't appreciate a good outdoor mall?

There's only one thing that really made this place more superior than your standard outdoor mall, and that is fantastic street musicians. The gentleman pictured here was a phenomenal guitarist, and I actually regret not purchasing his CD.

And while Larissa kept busy shopping for a massage pillow thing...








I kept busy with a foot squeeze machine. I guess if you wanted to have a little respect for the inventors, you might call it a mechanical massager... or something... but really, it was a foot squeeze machine.

After two hours, and $35.00 well spent, we decided to take advantage of the many sushi restaurants Santa Monica has to offer with half-off happy hour. The boyfriend met us at a popular sushi joint, which was so popular we opted for take-out instead. The sushi was great, and you can't beat 32 pieces for $15.00... plus free miso soup and edamame, for two. If you're not going to go to Santa Monica for the shopping and the cold, I recommend you at least go for the sushi. Totally worth it.

Rosemary Garlic Focaccia Bread

Focaccia bread is a flat bread I think originating from somewhere in the Mediterranean. My inclination is to claim Italy is the wizard behind this creation, but it could have been some crazy Cretan or something. Nevertheless, I still regard this particular delicacy as being Italian, no matter where it really came from.

It is more or less a leavened dough of few ingredients that is dimpled, smothered in olive oil, and massaged with spices or other flavorful additives. It is, more or less, delicious.

Ever since my KitchenAid stand mixer came into my life, a very well-deserved anniversary present she was, making breads and doughs has become easier than ever. But, because I assume that most people do not own one of these delightful machines, I will write the recipe for the general population instead. Keep in mind this recipe is time consuming. The work itself isn't hard, but you have to wait around for a while for the dough to rise. Approximate time, from start to finish, will be at least three hours. But it's not like anyone has anything better to do than make fresh bread, right?


Rosemary Garlic Focaccia Bread

1 envelope active dry yeast
1/2 c. tepid water
4 c. all-purpose flour
3 tsp salt
3 tbsp garlic; minced
2 tbsp fresh rosemary; chopped
EXTRA VIRGIN olive oil


1. Dissolve the yeast in a bowl with the tepid water. Let the yeast sit for about 10 minutes, then stir to dissolve.

2. Meanwhile, mix together the flour and 2 tsp of the salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the yeast water to the flour, and start mixing. You're going to have to add more tepid water to the mixture, until a smooth dough forms.

I think I added nearly 1.5 cups to mine. It's a bitch, and this is the point when I give my stand mixer a little kiss for doing the work for me. Here's what a smooth dough looks like:

3. Add about 2 tbsp of the minced garlic, and 1 tbsp of the rosemary to the dough. Knead the dough on a floured surface at least 10 or so minutes, until it is smooth and elastic and the herbs are pretty evenly distributed:

4. Put the dough back in the bowl, if it's clean enough, and cover with plastic. Let it rise in a warm place until doubled in volume. Two hours is a reasonable expectation. It should look like this:

5. At this point, it's time to get a cookie sheet out. Grease that thing up right with some olive oil, and slap the dough on there. Roll it out until it's about an even inch or so thick - the shape doesn't matter, so don't attempt a perfect rectangle. Let it rise another 30 minutes.

6. Slather the top in olive oil, spread around the remaining garlic and rosemary, and sprinkle on the remaining salt. The dough will collapse some, but take care not to compress it too much. With your finger tips, gently dimple the dough so it looks like this:

7. Now it's ready for baking! Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F, and bake until it's golden brown on the top, approximately 25-30 minutes. Voila!

Beautiful.

Please note that you MUST let the dough rise properly. I tried to rush things before and ended up with a broken heart and a giant bread stick that even the dog could barely chew. If there is just too much damn bread in the end, it's okay - it freezes well!

Laurel Canyon Dog Park

This is the closest dog park to our house, so we decided to take Darwin here last Friday. I have heard it is a pretty big dog park, but I must have overestimated its size in my head because it was smaller than I thought it would be. Really though, it was a pretty big dog park, with a lot of dogs. There were entire brigades of dog walkers there, herding packs of 30+ dogs! Who does that?? Do dogs ever get left behind? How can you possibly keep track of that many dogs when they aren't really yours? These people are serious professionals, and I was a little intimidated by their dog wrangling skills.

One thing I appreciated about this park that was noticeably different from my experience with San Francisco dog parks, was the lack of idiots and their aggressive mutts. I think during the hour and a half we were there, I may have seen one wussy dog fight. And not one crazy homeless drug addict with a ratty mongrel anywhere in sight! Maybe if we were closer to Santa Monica.


My worthless opinion aside, Darwin seemed to enjoy himself, despite the fact that he refused to stray too far from Michael's side. I do resent the fact that MY dog has taken more to my boyfriend in recent weeks. I maintain that it's because Michael lets Darwin jump up on him.

It was freakin' hot, but some dogs learned to cope.

Not Darwin though, who at this point in time is not a big fan of the water. He was perfectly content sitting next to Michael or occasionally running after a ball.



It all seemed pretty normal until Michael pointed out that one of the gentlemen across the park was a pretty big-name actor, although I haven't personally seen any of his movies. Shortly after, a woman approached the area we were sitting in. Her dog came up to me, and as I quickly fell in love with his sweetness, I hear the woman tell her friend that the dog I was petting was owned by an actress. Her friend says, "a known actress?" Her response was a chuckle before she says "oh yeah." As I sat there, petting some famous person's dog, looking at another famous actor with his dog and tall, tanned, blond girlfriend, I was reminded that I am indeed in Los Angeles now.