hmm ... tastes like doritos ...

stuff i did last week:

HOW IT ALL STARTED IN THE KITCHEN


fried chickpeas: this one gets a five-star wowza, and only partly because the mixture tastes like cool ranch doritos.

for some reason i can't find the recipe online -- i got it from a vegetarian times cookbook -- but it's simple: olive oil, dump chickpeas in sauce pan with fresh ginger and green chilis, until chickpeas brown. then add one diced tomato and then add like every single spice involved with making indian food: cumin, cayenne pepper, turmeric, curry powder and mix it with reserve chickpea juice. dump it in pan, mix it up.

but the best part was when i spontaneously whipped up a cucumber sauce to go with it, just in case it was too hot for mr. real-live-living-breathing-functioning-tastebuds. when that worked out, i knew i had hit cooking chi.

say it with me: kitchenstincts.



vegan lasagna: so this photo doesn't look like much, but it tasted pretty good. just substituting out the cheese filler with crumbles of firm tofu, garlic, basil, parsley. i used a pan that was too small, so my lasagna was really tall and messy. i also added soy sausage to the recipe. it has a lot of spinach in it, which was also nice. i added a lot of salt and pepper to make it a little more badass.

we are rich in leftovers.

READING
Neverwhere: A Novel by neil gaiman: I took my first trip in recent history into the Sci/Fi section of the bookstore. After seeing the movie “Coraline,” I decided Sci-Fi or not, I was going to read a Neil Gaiman book. It took me about two sittings with Neverwhere before I finally shook the feeling that someone had slipped me a Harry Potter. But from then on, smooth Sci-Fi sailing.

Neverwhere stars Richard Mayhew, a guy with a job and a troll doll collection he keeps on his desk at work, and a bossy fiance who drags him around malls and museums. They are on their way to an important dinner function when Richard stops to help a bloody mess-of-a-girl who is on the sidewalk. His fiance insists they don’t have time to help her, gives him an ultimatum, and flounces off to dinner without Richard.

full review here.

LISTENING TO
To Lose My Life (Filthy Dukes Remix): this band makes music that sounds like all my favorite bands making out with each other.

It's Blitz!: this is good sunny day, sun roof open, obnoxious sunglasses, driving to the cities music. but it is not better than that moment near hinckley where i can trade it out in favor of the current.

TV STUFF
america's next top model: i finally realized where i know natalie from: she played the role of caitlin on the real world brookly. mystery solved, right before she was kicked off the show.

fyi: i like pho and allison, and i think the blonde with the wonky eyes is okay. but mostly i like pho and allison.

90210: i don't know why i'm still watching this show. for awhile, it was because i wanted to see the diablo cody cameo, and i wasn't sure when it would air. but that was last week, and i stuck around this week because donna martin is back.

i wish this show could just watch itself and let me have my 42 minutes of peace.

real housewives of ny city: i'm not saying a word about the countess's halloween costume.