new miscellany.

Right. I shouldn't feel bad about this...even good blogs have posts like this.

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Saw No Country for Old Men again, this time at The Movies (pictured above). I really love The Movies. The interior is crazily retro and Shining-evocative in its carpeted spookiness, plus it has a ambitious/traditional full-service bar and restaurant inside. And, like all Dutch movie theatres, you can drink beer while you watch Javier Bardem's hair win Academy Awards.

It's odd watching a dialect/colloquialism-heavy movie with a non-native-language audience. In Phoenix, the entire theater chuckled 10 or 15 times at Tommy Lee Jones's dialogue...this time, I don't think there was a single group snicker, and that bummed me a little because it's a pretty wry movie.

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Bought more wild Alaskan salmon yesterday, tried another variation of a Chris Schlesinger recipe that is superficially quite similar to the last recipe we did, but the spices are more uppity. Mara thought they were a little too uppity, so I've reduced the amounts of those spices even further than I had originally.

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braised wild salmon with cumin, chipotle and citrus.

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2 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp paprika
4 wild salmon filets @ 150 grams each
2 shallots, diced
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 tomato, diced
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lime juice (about 2 limes)
1 minced chipotle chile
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 cup raisins
2 tbsp toasted, crushed hazelnuts

Directions forthcoming, but here's the standard VDuck caveman-style plating: unidentifiable protein under carelessly cut-and-strewn fresh herbs. I swear this isn't a chicken breast.



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Speaking of cavemen, what are the chances that this show would actually be funny? Very extremely small. And yet, we in Europe, who see American TV programs long after they've died and gone to TV Heaven, have watched said show more than once and snickered guiltily.

Funny that it was "critically savaged", according to Wikipedia. TV critics are known for their awesome senses of humor, so there must be a "disconnect" somewheres. I myself would like to see the pilot episode that was declared "too edgy"...

""""""""""....

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