Random Xmas movie part 1

movie:  The Grinch
starring:  Benedict Cumberbatch, Rashida Jones
genre: Comedy, Cartoon
year: 2018
format: Crave

plot: When the holiday hits the town of Whoville, everyone gets a little bit crazy, as the mayor has informed them to make everything three times larger than previous years. This is bad news for the Grinch, who just wants a quiet holiday. Deciding he must stop the festival, he hatches a plan to steal everyone's xmas related things. Meanwhile, a local group of kids decide to stay up late and capture Santa. Unknown to them, they accidentally trap the Grinch instead.

Okay, so if you've been following me for any amount of time, you know I don't celebrate winter holidays, so for me to sit down and watch an xmas movie something is going on. In this case I was looking for something for the upcoming Foodn'Flix.  I actually ended up liking this new version of the story.

The characters in this new version of The Grinch have more depth and they are fleshed out a lot more than previous versions. You get to know the kids in the neighbourhood as characters this time around with personalities which is something previous versions didn't really do.  And the addition of the reindeer buddy was cute.  I found myself giggling at the scenes of the Grinch, his dog and the reindeer thinking they'd make a great buddy comedy.  Which, is basically what this boils down to be. An animated buddy comedy with some over the top slapstick gags. Which, are actually funny.

I think this version is smart, witty and likeable.   Though, ironically, I decided not to go with this for Foodn'Flix, it's got a ton of food scenes.

The moral of the story hasn't really changed, the Grinch unwittingly reminds everyone the lesson that having tons of stuff isn't the point of the holidays, or the point of anything really. The rest of the town seem to bounce back from their "loss" easily as if it never happened.

I will say this about the film though, you almost get a sense that the producers/directors wanted to give the Grinch a romance because they point out more than a few times that the lady down the road is a single mom.  That would have been an interesting twist I think.

2018 Foodn' Flix January

Spudguns!  once again, I'm back to let you know it's dinner time! And this month's Food n Flix selection is  Wreck It Ralph,  which is being hosted by Amy at Amy's Cooking Adventures.

movie: Wreck It Ralph
starring: John C. Reilly, Jane Lynch
genre: Comedy, Cartoon, Family,
year:2012
format:  TV EDIT

plot: In the land of video games, Ralph is one of the bad guys, only, he's tired and stressed out from having the job of being the villain. After talking to some of the other villains, he decides to change his program. On the anniversary of his game, he sees the rest of his team mates having a party and makes a deal with them. If he can earn a metal, they'll treat him better in the hours after work. Ralph then begins his quest to earn that metal, which he manages to do when sneaking into one of the other games. Meanwhile, he's unaware just how his absence from his game is affecting the rest of his team mates; as it's left his game unplayable. With their game now under threat of being unplugged forever, Fix-it-Felix leaves the game as well in search of Ralph. Before long, both find themselves in a racing game called Sugar Rush. They along with one of the racers have to save Sugar Rush from the hands of the biggest villain in the arcade.

I'm surprised to say, I actually dug this movie. I didn't think I would by the trailer, but it was interesting and had a few moments of laugh out loudness.  It reminded me of not just the video games of the 80's that it referenced; but of those 80's adventure movies (Goonies, Princess Bride, Neverending Story, The Wizard)   I think casting John C. Reilly (Vampire's Assistant) set the mood perfectly; as he has a very expressive voice.

Notes: pie, martini, coffee, bagels, olives, cookies, milk, sugar, cherries, pop, ice cream, cake, chicken, shrimp cocktail, bacon, root beer, mushroom, eggs, coconut (mentioned) cotton candy, lollis, licorice, peppermints, candy canes, chocolate, gumdrops, pudding, marshmallows, popcorn, donuts, swirl-swiss roll, candy corn, cupcakes, peanut butter cup, oreo, milk duds (mentioned) salmon (mentioned) icing, cookie wafers, sprinkles, fruit rollups, chocolate milk, taffy, gingerbread, flour, pancake batter, strawberries, cream puffs (mentioned) jelly beans, pretzels, waffles, nougat, mentos, nuts, gummy bears, fudge, truffles, milkshakes, wine, chocolate chips.

I was unhappy with the fact this movie is 99% desserts. It sort of stumped me for a few days as to what to make.  I did however, keep thinking about one scene. When Ralph is first out of his game trying to find a metal, he checks the lost and found box at the root beer bar, and finds himself  one single mushroom from Super Mario. So I knew I wanted to do something with mushrooms. Add to this the fact the character of Vanellope builds her first race car from found items. I decided to make  "lost and found alphabet soup."

 Ingredients

1/2 cup split yellow peas
1 can 6 bean mix
2 cups mixed frozen vegetables (corn, peas, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower)
half an onion
1 mushroom
can of whole tomatoes and juice
salt
pepper
parsley
paprika
alphabet pasta

I used the pasta from a box of shaped KD, and only one single mushroom to fit with the joke in the movie.  These would be my "found items"

As well, the pasta shapes reminded me of when you put your name in the winner's section of arcade games, they sort of look like the block style most games used to use.


I started with the split peas, as they had to cook for nearly 45 minutes, then drained the beans adding them, cooking for another 30 minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients; saving the pasta for the very last as they only needed a couple of minutes to soften.



 


That's about all I've got for you this time around, join us again for another dinner and movie idea. Next month's selection is Guess Who's Coming To Dinner, and is being hosted by CulturEatz.

August FoodnFlix 2016

Okay, it's that time of things again, and Heather was sweet enough to Heather was sick of me whining like one of her kids and to shut me up, let me have a second hosting this year over on Food n'Flix, and I picked Hotel Transylvania 2. (here announcement)  You might remember, last year I did my Brunch with a Vampire, and gave you omelettes and garlic croissants inspired by the first movie in the series. (yes series, very interested to see what is in plan for 2018's HT3)

I talked about this movie back in September of 2015 when it first came out, but here's a reminder of it:
Plot: Mavis and Johnny have just had their first son, Dennis who is yet to show any signs of being a vampire. Afraid her son is completely human, Mavis begins making plans to move to the human world to live with Johnny's family. While visiting her in-laws to see if it's a good idea, her father Dracula is back in Transylvania babysitting little Dennis. Drac is sure that Dennis is indeed a vampire, just a bit of a late fanger. With the help of his long time buddies Frank, Murray, Blobby, Wayne and Griffin, they go to their old haunts. Only things don't go as smooth as they hoped. There is one option left to help Dennis become a vampire, and that's letting Dracula's dad Vlad in on the secret.
 
Notes: Hors d'oeuvres, "jello mold" (character of Blobby) cake, poisonberry {Bittersweet}(mentioned) garlic (mentioned) ice cream, anchovies, matzo ball soup, coffee, wine, apples, burger, fish, porridge, tropical drinks, chicken (mentioned) plum (mentioned) strawberry (mentioned) candy, stuff crusted pizza (mentioned) avocado, rolled oats, apricots, poptarts (mentioned) deer, chips, hot dogs, slushies/slurpee, Count Chocula cereal (mentioned) carrot, raisins, licorice strips, grapes, bananas, cupcakes, marshmallows, duck, mini tomatoes, roast, eggs, canned spaghettios/ravioli, soup, pigeon, (there is even a scene with dog food)

So my mind was everywhere, from making a "Blobby" to "Werewolf Bone" (spare ribs or rack of lamb) to "Kibbles and Bits" to "Deep fried Batwings and Acid Sauce" (spicy bbq wings with roasted garlic dip) to another stake through the heart cake. (one of these days I will redeem myself on that old post) but being vegetarian, most of those were no gos.
I knew I wanted to make it a bit more character based then scene based, but really had a hard time nailing down one character. In the end, I made a dessert that is both character based and scene based.

A few of my favourite scenes, happen to be the convenience store where Mavis and Johnny are talking to the night worker while she's hyped on junk food. The scene where Dracula is wandering around his bedroom complaining while Frank is trying on his clothes; which I call the Dudeman scene, and when the group are in the park trying to teach young Dennis to be scary, and it's Wayne's turn to kill a deer, and mentions poptarts.

What I came up with was something that I can 100% say is the most out of the box thing I've ever let slip through my zombie eaten brain. It's also the laziest recipe I've ever allowed myself to do. I mean lazzzzzzyyyyyyy!  I should be ashamed, but I'm actually proud of the idea. (it took me longer to do the post than it did the recipe) You can barely call it a recipe...



Wayne's Conveniently Oozing Poptart Pie

Ingredients

1 box of poptarts crushed
1 can of cherry pie filling
1 can of blueberry pie filling

 
Crush the poptarts, spread over pie plate, leaving one for the top
open pie filling, spreading one layer at a time,
crumble leftover poptart on top
Bake at 275 degrees for 15 minutes, let cool enough to place into fridge for 2 hours to set.

That's it. Embarrassing as it is to say how lazy this is, it was so worth it.  It is the most junk food you can cram into a single slice of anything, and not feel like you've just inhaled a ton of junk food. Even though you know you just basically ate a plate of sugar.

I wanted to do something that represented the convenience food, the idea of blood and of course the poptarts.  And of course there was no real thinking involved, so nod to the zombie food blogger Porridge Head in the film.

Deadline is next week, and I'll be back with the Round Up for it the day after that. So don't forget to come back and find out what everyone came up with.  And next month, the group will be covering the movie Frida hosted by Eliot's Eats.

year 5 day 114

movie: Ice Princess
starring:Michelle Trachtenberg, Kim Cattrall
genre: Family, Drama
year:2005
format: Netflix Canada

plot: A student trying to write her entrance thesis for university, discovers her talent for figure skating. Soon, she's forced to make the choice of following her brain or her heart.

So, another take on the nerd turned athlete film. It's sweet, it's got it's point, and it's nothing overly special. Nothing in it overly stood out for me. There are no bad guys in this. That's really what stood out. Just when you think the character of the coach is going to be the big evil, or one of the rival skaters, you get curved around it and all is forgiven. It was almost too sweet.

There wasn't a big enough pay off for me with this. The lead character beats the competition like every underdog film; but comes up just short in the final moments. Which, I'd like to say is a twist, but we've seen that before in a few films. The big emphasis being on playing from the heart and not for the gold. I actually would have liked to have seen more of the physics she's in the beginning, suppose to be basing her whole project on, carried through bit more after the midway point in the film. It was almost as if the writers decided to forget they were suppose to have a "nerd" for their lead character. 

I would love to see Kim Cattrall and Joan Cusack do a buddy comedy, as the chemistry the two have in their 3 minutes together of air time, made the movie's point. Each is the mirror of the other, both headstrong in their beliefs, feeling the path the other has taken is the weaker choice. Even once they begin to agree, they continue to butt heads. 

what did I learn? zamboni over golf cart any day.

year 5 day 86

movie: Lemony Snicket A Series of Unfortunate Events
starring Jim Carrey, Jude Law
genre Comedy, Fantasy,
year 2004
format Netflix Canada

plot: After three children become orphans, they arrive at three different homes with three different guardians. The only problem is one wants them dead.

Based on the books.

I sort of want to say that this stars Jim Carrey, Jim Carrey and Jim Carrey, as he actually in a sense plays three different characters...sort of. He's got the role of the villain who then disguises himself as two other characters in order to get the children away from their other guardians later on.  I have to admit, I wasn't going into it with much faith given it was a children's movie, but I'm actually glad I sat through this one.
Meryl Streep plays the last of the guardians, who's character is a paranoid widow afraid of everything from the fridge falling on her to the idea of the doorhandles exploding. It's in a twisted way, a very charming character. The half Victorian gothic-half modern elements makes the film very surreal in every step; the colour palate blacks/whites/greys. The mood being set it never feels depressing, instead it just adds to the idea that this is a world outside of the norm. The staging put me in mind of the Cat in the Hat, but where that one failed, this one excels.
I also liked the idea that we never fully see Jude Law as he's always in the shadows as the narrator. Which adds to the surrealism of the whole thing. You keep expecting it to reveal him as one of the grown up children or to find out he's the son of one of them or something, but he's just the narrator.

what did I learn? I would love to say that I came away from this with a big a-ha moment, but I fell into the imagery of it so much that I was mesmerized, and didn't really look for any moral of the stories.

year 5 day 63

movie: Inside Out
starring Amy Poehler, Bill Hader
genre:Cartoon, Comedy, Drama
year:2015
format: Netflix Canada

plot: We follow a week in the life of an 11 year, but through the view point of her emotions as they try to reconnect her to herself

I am not even sure where to start with this. It was a lot better then I was expecting it to be. The "lead" character of the emotion Joy, had this fairy quality to it. I just kept thinking of the movie Ferngully.
There seems to be a constant struggle between the emotions of Sadness and Joy, who through the whole film, are the two oldest of the emotions. Joy, who tries to control everything and keep everything happy and light, while Sadness is viewed like the sidekick.

The kid who's emotions are telling the story, filter the experience of moving across the country, losing what mattered most to that point; the stability of the old friends, hobbies and familiarness to the point of pure denial. It's this denial of the full range of emotions, that lead them to accidentally destroying the personality of the kid. They then have this journey to try to rebuild everything.

It's a cartoon and spends the majority of the time fighting to keep things in a safe innocent place. It's a kid's movie...or is it?  It's not until the emotions realize they need to work together that the personality of the kid is saved, and new elements are introduced.

what did I learn? No body is one thing

year 5 day 18

movie: Night at the Museum 3 Secret of the Tomb
starring:Ben Stiller, Dan Stevens
genre:Comedy, Fantasy
year:2014
format:Netflix Canada

plot:When the magick tablet that powers the museum's displays, starts to loose it's powers, the night security guard must find the key to helping keep the spirit alive.

Based on the children's books.

Okay, so I'm not having much luck this week with seeing things in order. I actually had no idea there is more then one movie in this series. I was a few minutes into it before I realized this wasn't the first movie.  Luckily, it's one of those movies that once you get past the first five minutes, it's pretty much a stand alone.
With that said, it was funnier then I was expecting.  The scene where Sir Lancelot is talking to Hugh Jackman was funny, but didn't need so much screen time, it could have been shorter and still worked.
The set up seemed like it was going to be more to do with Egyptian lore and characters, but they were minimal at best, which was a slight disappointment. 

what do i think I learned? Magick is everywhere, you just have to be willing to accept it.

13 days of Hallowe'en Day 11

Goosebumps

plot: After moving to a new town, Zach believes his neighbour is being held against her will by her dad. Breaking into the neighbour's house, Zach and his new buddy Champ, discover that their neighbour is none other then author R.L.Stine. Curious as to why he has all the original manuscripts to his famous books under lock and key, the two boys decide to open one. To their horror it unleashes one of the monsters from the story. Too bad for them, it wasn't the only one, as a ventriloquist's dummy, Slappy, has been awakened as well. Slappy steals all the remaining books and begins to free the monsters, wrecking havoc on the town.

This is the 2015 comedy horror starring Jack Black and Dylan Minnette

So, yay me, got to the cinema.

Try to do this without spoilers as it is still in cinemas.   Even though Jack Black has three roles : Stine, Slappy and the voice of the  Invisible Boy; there wasn't enough of him on screen for my tastes.  Yes, I get this was targeted to kids, and therefore the teenagers were the "stars" of the piece, but Black stole the scenes he was in.

There wasn't a whole lot different then anything you've seen on the tv show, it kept it's pace and managed to keep the large assortment of monsters in check. There were by my count, seven featured bad guys in this with the "rest" being crowd filler. Which, given the source material, was a feet in itself. This could have branched off into a ton of different story lines, but managed to keep it tight enough to be easy to follow.
I loved the little nods to The Shining, and the typewriter. I actually felt there were a few threads that kick back to the bases of The Shining and Stephen King's Dark Half and Secret Window.

Did I mention I hate ventriloquist dummies?  I think that was the perfect selection for the big bad in this. 

What would I like to see in the sequel...more Jack Black.

Random movie -Hotel Transylvania 2

plot: Mavis and Jonathan get married and have a son. Dracula is worried because Dennis has yet to fang, while Mavis is content to believe he's totally human. But it's looking more and more like the newest Dracula is nothing more then a typical 5 year old. Dracula convinces Jonathan to take Mavis to visit his parents in the U.S, while the rest of the gang take little Dennis on a crash course in being a monster, in hopes that he'll get his fangs. But, when everything goes wrong, Mavis decides it's time to move away from the hotel, and invites her grandfather Vlad to visit one last time.

This is a 2015 animated comedy starring Adam Sandler and Kevin James.

So I got to the cinema today, and you know I've been looking forward to this film for over a year since I found out they were doing a sequel.
I have to say, there was one big flaw and that is the fact Mel Brooks doesn't have enough air time.
There is one great gag that is clearly a toothy smirk to both Bram Stoker's Dracula from 1992 and Mel Brook's Dracula Dead and Loving It from 1995.  hint...the big haired wig.

I'm trying to write this without giving away too many spoilers as this is it's opening weekend.

*SPOILERS ALERT*

There is a comic-ly touching scene where Jonathan hugs the wall of the castle and says that it is the only place he's felt like he can truly be himself. Meanwhile, Mavis is doing everything possible to be more human and fit in. When she goes to the U.S., she realizes how sheltered she really was and expresses the fact she's envious of Jonathan's life before he met her.  (I nearly cried cause that hit home for me big time) All the while, their little bat-boy who is obsessed with both Batman and the Cake Monster (total rip off of Cookie Monster) just wants to hang out with the werewolf pups and be like all the monsters he has come to know and love. 
There is even a scene where Dennis is standing on a very unsafe stack of boxes trying to will himself into being a bat so that he can fly; knowing that if he's a vampire they won't need to move away.  

The themes here are accepting yourself as well as those who are different then you. Being comfortable in your own skin. And not forcing yourself to be what other people might expect you to be if it's not who you feel you really are.
I love the fact that they made Mavis this sort of wide eyed innocent girl even though she's suppose to be a few hundred years old. That one of the other sub-plots running through the film is that just because your current phase in life has changed, that doesn't mean you have to give up what makes you happy; what makes you -you at your core.  Which is expressed in a scene where Mavis and Jonathan are watching a group of kids bike and skateboard, and she expresses the desire to join them, but cuts herself off at first saying she's a mom there fore too old, but Jonathan talks her into just going with the flow and enjoying the moment.

*End of Spoilers*

There was a few times in this film I nearly cried, but I managed to keep it together as the comedy was quick enough to overshadow any really heavy scenes. 

There is talks already of a part 3 coming out in the next few years. Personally, I'd love to see how the new character of little Dennis handles human school or something along that line.

Theme Week p3-Sandler's Drac Pack

Zookeeper

plot: After asking his girlfriend to marry him and being turned down, a zookeeper discovers that he can communicate with the animals, and ends up getting relationship advice from them.

This is a 2011 comedy staring Kevin James and Adam Sandler

I actually found this to be a fairly decent, if not predictable, movie. It was charming enough to be something you might want to watch on a Sunday afternoon.  There is a lot of computer graphics as all the animals talk at some point in the film.
You have your typical boy meets girl, boy gets dumped, boy fails to see his best friend who is in love with him plot happening, but otherwise it makes for a good romantic comedy.

It's also a buddy movie given the fact he becomes best friends with a large talking gorilla that he takes to a bar. Yeah, it sounds twisted but proves to be right on the money.

Kevin James does the voice of Frankenstein and Sandler of Dracula in both Hotel Transylvania films.

Theme Week -Sandler's Drac Pack

Pixels

plot: Aliens viewing video games in the 1980's via a time capsule, believe that humans have intentions of starting an interplanetary war, and attack as giant versions of the games. Lucky for the president of the U.S. he and his best friends are former video game champions. They figure out a way to make a weapon that shoots electronic pulses in order to kill the attackers. But, when one of the heroes is caught cheating, all bets are off.

This is the 2015 comedy starring Adam Sandler and Kevin James. Based on the French film of the same name.

First big cheer because I was actually able to get to the cinema. Yay me!  This film was surprisingly fit for the family.  So bonus points for that.
There is no doubt about it, it was targeted for my age group; ya know those of us who actually grew up in the 80's.

I did find it dragged in a few places, as I was expecting it to be more of an action geared story, but it seemed to take it's notes not just from the pop culture of the 80's but the pacing styles and story telling of movies from the 80's as well. Refreshing in a way too.
Is it wrong for me to say that what this movie did more than anything was make me all that much more interested in seeing the reboot of Ghostbusters?  Cause it did.

Okay, remember I said the other week I was struggling with finding a theme for this month, well it sort of hit me like a slap to the face; given later this month Hotel Transylvania 2 comes out. Adam Sandler does the voice of Dracula in both Hotel Transylvania movies and Kevin James does the voice of Frankenstein. 

May Food n Flix/ Theme Week

I will never betray my goon dock friends
We'll stick together till the whole world ends
Through heaven or hell or nuclear war
Good pals like us will stick like tar
In the city or country or forest or boonies
I'm proudly declared a fellow goonie.

30 years later and I still remember it. Scary right!  GirliChef is hosting Food n Flix this month, and if you haven't figured it out yet, her pick is the Goonies.  You might remember the first year of the blog (Sept 10th 2012) I did the Goonies as the quote of the day. I also mentioned it on my top 5 Corey Feldman movies, and top 5 movie nerds.

Normally, I give a heads up few days or so before I post the actual  post for it, but...it's the Goonies!   I'm sure I'll think of another dish or two and wish I had waited but...I sort of wanted this to kick off my theme week as well.

This should have been the easiest Food n Flix selection for me. And anyone who knows me, or even knew me 30 years ago, knows how obsessed I've been with this movie over the decades. I mean O-B-S-E-S-S-E-D! to the point of wearing out a couple vhs copies, a couple of dvd copies, reenacting scenes in drama class (when I was 12) to collecting everything I could get my hands on back in the day when it first came out in cinemas.  I ate more goonies chocolate bars then any person should ever admit to. (which I recently learned was just a Canadian thing! And basically just a Baby Ruth in a "Sloth" wrapper)
So, this is part of both Food n Flix series of posts, and my personal theme week; which this week is Corey Feldman movies.

Now, I said this "should have been the easiest" Food n Flix selection for me, but it was the hardest so far, this movie being what it is to me.

Plot: About to loose their homes, a group of kids- Mikey, Brand, Mouth, Data, Steph, Andy and Chunk- find a treasure map in Mikey's attic. The excitement leads to them believing they can save their homes if they find a 300 year old buried treasure that no one else was able to. As they follow the map and begin their adventure, they stumble upon a family of ex-cons-the Fratellis- who are running a counterfeiting scheme.  They also find a dead body in the ice-cream freezer. The kids realize the basement of the hideout is the entrance to the treasure. Chunk gets left behind to inform the police, but is kidnapped by the Fratellis, and stuck into a room with Sloth, the youngest Fratelli son who is deformed.  The Fratellis then decide to track down the rest of the gang in the underground tunnels. Before long, everyone ends up finding out "x" really does mark the spot as a fight for the treasure begins.


Okay...little excited here, but here's my notes for the classic 1985 adventure starring Corey Feldman and Sean Astin...

Baby Ruth bars, pizza, "turkey" (the opening scene the cop says turkey) "hangman's bluff" (same opening scene where we see Jake faking his own death) crackers, crab, strawberry milkshakes, chips, "vegan sausage" (the statue that Chunk breaks) pop, corn (hanging as a wall decoration on the outside of Mikey's house) "gumballs"(there are a few booby traps that have canon balls) chicken/eggs, tongue, "truffle shuffle", "fondue" (hearing Copperpot over and over just made me think of it) whipped cream, coffee, "that's what I said salad" (Mikey and his mom constantly say "that's what I said" whenever they get a sentence wrong) matzo balls, "shut up chunk cake" (they tell him constantly to shut up) twinkies, veal scallopini, wine, fettuccine, ice-cream, "Sloth's platter" (hard to see on my screen, but I always thought it meant to look like it was leftovers of potatoes, cabbage, eggs and beets...) "cobweb soup" (there's a few scenes where they are in the tunnels with both spiderwebs and water which never made sense cause wouldn't that much water melt the webs?) chocolate sauce, "counterfeit confetti cake", water (it's everywhere!) tomatoes, "nuts and bolts" (the scene where Andy goes crazy in the tunnels talking about her body) "skeleton keys", "fried bat wings" (the bats fly out of the tunnels into the hideout) "salt water taffy",  "shish kabob" (Data falling with his pinchers of peril onto the spikes) "organ meat", "mudslides" (the drink because of the waterfall scene) "peanut brittle" (Data falling through the ships deck) rum, "Captain Chunk's Brownies"(Chunk has a lot of chocolate related scenes and he does wear the captain's hat) sushi (Data mentions an octopus in the scene where they are rescued, plus the old music video has one plus if you are a freaky-geek like me and watch the deleted scenes there's an octopus)


And with so much water, all I could think was soup. I also couldn't get the shot of the character Steph fishing for crab out of my head. I thought of chowder. But, since I'm vegetarian, I was struggling to figure out how to make a vegetarian one...then remembered the corn decoration on the house. So I decided to make "Chunky" corn chowder and biscuits. 






Biscuits

1/2 pound butter
4 and a half teaspoon baking powder
4 cup flour
3 tablespoon sugar
vanilla
1 egg
half cup milk

Form dough, roll out and shape, bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes depending on your oven.

Being the ghoul that I am, having  Hallowe'en cookie cutters, I tried to make the biscuits shaped like skulls...only they didn't really turn out looking like that as much as just thick.

"Chunky" Corn Chowder

1 medium onion chopped
2 large potatoes peeled and cut
1 stalk of celery chopped
1 tablespoon butter
salt water
4 cups milk
1 large can of corn
black pepper
2 tablespoon flour

Boil potato in salt water for about 10 minutes until it starts to become tender, drain,

add milk to cover them, simmer for 5 minutes,
add corn, onions, celery, black pepper and cover simmering for another 15 minutes. 

Take off of the heat, and add butter and flour stirring till blended.





The original recipe called for corn on the cob to be added and boiled in the soup, letting the corn fall off naturally, but I took the easy route on the corn, plus I had canned corn in the kitchen and wanted to use it up.





You will notice, some of my Goonies collectables here.

The magazine which has been taped back together more then once, half the lining from the soundtrack, the spoken script on 45 record...I couldn't find my actual soundtrack which was a record as well or my novelizations, of which I have two. One is the "movie tie-in" and the other is the full "script novelization".  Somewhere in the amount of stuff I own, I also have a few of the collectors cards, the 6 poster set, the old case to the worn out vhs copy and one single wrapper from the chocolate bar.





Told you I was...er I suppose I have to admit still slightly am obsessed with this movie...Okay a lot obsessed with it still all these years later.

And you can see I made one biscuit with raisins to try to make it more "skeleton" like and represent the key they use to unlock some of the tunnels, but...One Eyed Willie he's not. 

That's my take on a Goonies' dinner, and don't forget it's Corey Feldman theme week here.

And as I always say, not the prettiest dish on the table but "good enough for me"

till later...

March Food n Flix

This month's Food n Flix film is  The Quiet Man and is hosted by What's On The List?

plot: A man returns to his family's estate in Ireland and promptly falls for the woman who lives next door. Unfortunately for him, her brother is bitter that he out bid him for a chunk of farm land and refuses to let them marry. After the rest of the town helps the young couple convince the woman's brother, more bad blood occurs when the brother withholds her half of the family money. The brother then goats the new husband into a public fight, unaware his new brother-in-law is a former boxer who killed a man in the ring.

This is a 1952 film starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara, and is based on a short story.

So my notes for this movie contained: trout, salmon, lamb, Irish stew, "goat cheese", "beets" (there were splashes of red everywhere that just reminded me of beet juice) pub food, baked potatoes, green beans, chops, bread/butter, pot roast, whiskey, beer, "smoked halibut" (more then a few fishing scenes but also a lot of characters just smoking)  "date squares", "tea", "gingerbread"  (the cottage made me think of Hansel and Gretel)  "strawberry shortcake" (the dress the lead female character wears reminded me of it) buttermilk, "powdered sugar" (the horse race on the beach just made me think of it) "camomile tea" (a lot of shots of white flowers mostly daisies) "graveyard cake" (the graveyard scene made me think of Hallowe'en decorations) chocolate gold coins, wedding cake, "rose-hip tea" (there's a big to do over a rose bush) shepherd's pie.

Half the movie takes place with rain and high winds, so all I could think was hot food hot drinks, which is why all the teas. Again, my list is half because of what shows up in the scenes/dialog and half of what it triggered in my mind.

I ended up watching this online. So you will notice a lack of movie case in the photos. 

I went with date squares, because A) the movie is about romance (the "date" part) and B) the movie is about land disputes (the "square" represents the "lots of farm land")  And it was one of my Newfie Grandparent's favourite things (Newfoundlanders are half Irish half British for those outside of Canada)

 Ingredients:

1 and a half cups flour
1 and a half teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butter
1 and a half cups oats
1 and a half cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 pound dates
3/4 cup hot water
1/4 cup regular sugar
pinch salt

               

 For the filling, mix the dates, salt, regular sugar and water.

For the crust, mix the oats, flour, baking soda, brown sugar, butter, vanilla.

Spread HALF of the crust on the bottom of the pan, then the filling over it, and the remainder of the crust on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes roughly depending on your oven.

 I have to admit, for such an easy recipe, it took me double the time it should have, because I had to chop the dates. And they were glazed, so just a sticky mess.  Plus, I had to break out the pestle and mortar to break up the brown sugar as it had gotten clumpy.

I do not have any "real" kitchen equipment, no pasta maker, no blender, no food processor. So I end up doing everything the old fashioned way by hand.
Nor do I have a microwave, but that's because I hate microwaves.
The heart shaped pan was just all I had, I dropped my glass one and it broke. But none the less, very cute for the topic...

This goes perfect with a nice hot cup of tea. Which, I was going to make a homemade tea blend for, but didn't have the opportunity to get to the gluten free store to pick up loose teas. Maybe someone will pick up on the idea and run with it?

Okay, as I tell you every time, my photography skills suck, and my food is like me, not beautiful but will keep you happy.

Till next time...

Theme Week part 2 Sequels

The Good Witch's Wonder : GW part 7

plot: Cassie has less then a week to plan her son's wedding, while helping a young woman who is on the run from an abusive husband.

This is a 2014 made for tv movie starring Catherine Bell and Catherine Disher.

Yeah, part seven in the series, you read that right. It's no secret I have a love-hate relationship with made for tv movies, but most of the Good Witch films, I've ended up liking. This one left me feeling flat. The good point was the actors finally seemed comfortable in their roles, the bad points were it didn't feel fleshed out. The story was a bit too one dimensional for me.
Another thing I didn't care for was the lack of magic in the story. It didn't have the same pardon the pun, charm, as others in the movie series.

I get this film is the bridge between the movies and the upcoming tv show, but it just leaned too much on "reality" and not enough on "the fantasy" aspects the other movies have made a name on.

There was almost too many sub-plots happening for a made for tv movie, with the character of Grace looking for love, the best friend running around like a whirl-wind of nonsense, the insecurity of the grandfather feeling out dated and the barely touched on back story of the abused wife.

year 3 day 120

movie: Chef
starring: Jon Favreau, John Leguizamo
genre: Drama, Comedy
year: 2014
format: Shaw Video On Demand

plot: After quitting his job at a famous restaurant, Carl takes his son and best friend on a road trip across the U.S. in order to start their own food truck.

This film covers it all, you've got elements of a good buddy movie, it's a road trip film, food lover's dream, and the messages is solid. Go do what you love, no matter how low you think you are you can always find the positive, family is the base of everything, and get back to basics.

I loved the contrast between the young son being the internet/social media guru and the adults being the ones who just wanted to get back to their roots. I thought the balance between the two extremes was timely, pin point accurate and needed. You get to see how the online world has both created and destroyed people in seconds with the touch of an button.

The food itself is like another character...scratch that, a series of characters, as with every stop they make along their journey, they spotlight a few local/traditional dishes. Beautiful to watch, and a warning not to watch on an empty stomach.
You start off seeing the main character just wanting to share a real meal with his son, which turns into this heartwarming bond between them as the story progresses. This film manages to mix just the right amount of road trip with one of those you've got to eat here shows.
I hope this does for some people what Eat Pray Love did few years ago, and makes you double think how you interact online with others, as well as getting back to the basics, whatever your basics happens to be.

year 3 day 119

movie: The Good Witch
starring: Catherine Bell, Chris Potter
genre: Fantasy,
year: 2008
format: Popcornflix

plot: A small town is changed when a mysterious woman moves in, making everyone believe she is a witch.

This is the first in the movie series.

It's a Hallmark made for tv Sunday night movie, so you know it's going to be sweet and with a happy message.
I like the idea of these films, but there is just something too sugary for me here. This is done with more of a psych 101 approach then anything really "mystical", making it seem through the whole film that she's not really a witch on the surface.

I get the message, don't judge others, treat everyone kindly, stand up for yourself...but it's so formulaic you don't need to be watching the screen to know what's happening.

Year 3 Day 71

movie: Free Willy
starring: Michael Madsen, Michael Ironside
genre: Drama,
year; 1993
format: TV edit

plot: After getting caught spray painting a whale tank, a boy is placed in a foster home and has to spend the summer cleaning up the paint. While doing his community service, he forms an attachment with a troublesome whale. He helps to train him, but when it looks like the whale will be destroyed, the boy forms a plan to release the animal back into the wild.

I'm neutral on this one. Typical wild kid makes good type of movie. You sort of get the idea of what is going to happen before it does.
You have two characters who are just looking for a solid home, and a family that they can count on to not leave them. You see the bond created by the kid and the whale, which gives way to the kid starting to get over his trust issues. In a way, I suppose the whale does too.

Classic family movie, I just wish some of the characters had more depth to them.

Year 3 Day 70

movie: Rio
starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway
genre: Cartoon
year: 2011
format: TV edit

plot: A tropical bird gets kidnapped as a chick and ends up in a pet store. After 15 years of being a house pet, the owner is told it's the last male of it's species, and is shipped off to Rio where it is suppose to be mated to the last female of it's species. The two birds end up being stolen and the owners try to track then down. Along the way, they have to dodge a group of criminals that include pick-pocketing monkeys, a bird who is a psychopathic bully, and the humans who want to sell them.

Well, babysitting, so this was my cousin's pick. It was a lot funnier then I thought it would be, yes, I actually laughed out loud more then once.
It's a comedy/musical/romance all rolled into a cartoon.

The main theme is having the courage to believe in yourself, while battling your fears.

Year 3 Day 51

movie: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2
starring: Bill Hader, Anna Faris
genre: Cartoon
year: 2013
format: Shaw Video On Demand

plot: After creating a machine that can turn water into food, a young inventor is hired to find the missing machine and turn it off. Only, the evil mastermind who hired him is just wanting to steal the machine for himself, and use it to create power bars. When they go looking for the machine, they find an entire island made of food with living food creatures.

This is a sequel and based on a book.  I have to say, I liked this film, laughed out loud through most of it.  (I covered the first film way back on Day 7 of the first year) 
I'm not sure what to say about a movie about screaming leaks and cheeseburger-spider monsters, and swimming marshmallows...other then it was a cute movie and now all I can think of is how much I want a large veggie burger.

Year 3 Day 26

movie: Rise of the Guardians
starring: Hugh Jackman, Jude Law
genre: Drama, Comedy,
year: 2012
format: online Netflix Canada

plot: The Boogyman has started to get revenge on all the other holiday icons, and kidnaps the Tooth Fairy's students, as well as all the memories-thus power of belief- of children by stealing their teeth. As the Boogyman covers the world with fear, the other holiday icons start to loose their powers. Only Frost can help, even though he's spent so much time invisible, therefore only being at half power as the others.

This was one of those films that came up as a "if you liked this, then we recommend this" on Netflix Canada, and something I wasn't really sure I wanted to get into.  I'm still sort of on the edge with this one. One of those, not sure I really liked it, not sure I really hated it.

And the point of it was?  I think it was about how we're not too old for believing in the positive/imagination of the impossible... I think?  It also seems to be about managing our fears, and not judging others.  

And, I added the tags of witchcraft/vampires; because of the Boogyman. He is a creature that feeds on fear and depression.