Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!  What are you doing for Halloween this year?  (I will be dressing up as a Vampire ($5 teeth and some black clothes, what could be easier?) and going to a party at the neighbors house.)

-Ariel

Feminist Friday Quick Clicks, 6

• Ew, ew, ew, Twilight is so creepy.  And here’s an argument from the ‘other side’ defending Twilight that really just proves why.
• This blog post needs work, but I think it helps open a conversation between sexism, anti-choice, and adulthood overall.
• The Lutheran Church of Sweden will soon be performing gay marriages =]
• I think this is funny and a clear example of capitalism gone mad:  ”Christians who believe they’ll vanish from Earth in the rapture can now hire an atheist to care for their pets.”  Only in America…
• On the gender divide in sex ed.
• On working mothers and the whole sexist media ridiclousness around it.
• On gender roles and girls already worrying about their appearances in primary school.
• Disney Princesses, deconstructed.
• I wish Mattel was making Barbies this cool.
• “Just in case you think the reason white people don’t notice racism is because it’s too subtle, here’s a clip on shopping while black from ABC’sWhat Would You Do?“
• “Some 70 percent of the respondents in a new study feel they should also take their spouse’s surname – and 50 percent say that it should be a legal requirement for a woman to take her spouse’s last name.”  And yet people still say that feminism is outdated, or pointless, or that we already got the right to vote so why don’t we just stfu already.
• Oklahoma vs Women.  This law is disgusting and a huge invasion of privacy.  No one is asking to make all vasectomies public.  People would be aghast if they had to report to the gov’t exactly why they had liposuction and to have that information available publicly on the internet.  But because it’s about a womans right to her own body in such a way that has nothing to do with being ‘pretty’ or femming it up for the benefit or at the request of men it is the all-evil.  I don’t think these people even give a shit about the fetus’s anymore, if that ever had anything to do with it.
• Pic of the day, via Shakesville.
• Feminism in Italy, struggling to take hold with a constant stream of misogynist remarks from  Berlusconi.
• Charts on understanding income inequality in America.
• A girls thoughts on her own personal safety.
• “Nearly a third of the children who flee or are kicked out of their homes each year engage in sex for food, drugs or a place to stay, according to a variety of studies published in academic and public health journals.”

On Nothing Really

I haven’t really much to blog about today.  I made two kids ghost costumes out of white sheets (slightly more elaborate than cutting holes out for eyes and tossing it over the kids,) but I didn’t take pics while I was making them and I’m not positive that I could write it out without diagrams.  If anyone wants to know though, just ask and I’ll type it up.

I also haven’t baked anything new, and all I’m planning for dinner is chicken, baked potatoes, and steamed broccoli.  Last nights dinner was pretty much chicken and rice, making a sauce from a Indian spice packet I found at the Vietnamese shop downtown.  I plan to crochet up some socks or slippers soon though, though I probably won’t have time to start that until after the weekend.

So as I have nothing else to post, here are two pics I’ve stumbled across on the internet today.  I don’t know the story behind the pic with Bush and the baby he is holding, but the baby Obama is holding is Nancy Pelosi’s granddaughter and was taken a few days ago after the Democratic National Committee dinner.

 

(Via.)

-Ariel

Chili Chocolate Brownies

(I think) these brownies need work.  My host dad and friend both liked them, and they do taste good, but they did not come out as soft or fudge-like as I generally prefer.  Instead they were a bit dry and crumbly.  So I am going to consider them a work-in-progress and will try them again when I have the time and materials.  Suggestions and advice are, of course, welcome.  Here’s what I did:

Chili Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients:

• 350g/I don’t know how to convert that one.  About 2-3 bars of quality chocolate?:  finely chopped/shaved dark chocolate
• 125g/1 stick: butter
• 2 eggs
• 75 g/ between a third and half a cup?: sugar
• 130g/ 1 cup: flour
• 2 chili peppers, finely chopped/very nearly pureed

Cook:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180′C/350′F and grease a pan.
2. In a saucepan melt chocolate and butter.
3. Remove from heat and add sugar, eggs, flour, and chili.
4. Bake for 25-30 minutes, then let cool completely before cutting/serving.

-Ariel

Daylight Savings Reminder

You could always check WikiAnswers (or some other clearly reputable source) for your 2009 daylight savings info, but why do that when the UK (and whatever soap they’re advertising) brings you this reminder (nsfw?):

Mexican Chicken and Lime Soup

This was soo yummy last night.  The flavor is unique and intense; perfect for hot or cold weather.  I should have taken a pic of it, but I didn’t think to until after it was gone.

Mexican Chicken and Lime Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 liter/4.5 cups water
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes (or sub stock)
• 3 chicken breast halves
• 3 large onions
• 3 -4 cloves garlic
• 2 chili peppers, de-seeded
• 2 tomatoes
• 2 limes
• a handful of cilantro
• seasonings (salt, pepper, oregano, whatever you like.)

Cook:

1. Put water, bouillon cubes, chicken, seasonings, garlic, and one chopped onion in a pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce to medium heat, cover, and simmer until chicken has cooked.
2. While chicken is cooking chop and saute onions, chili, cilantro, and tomatoes (put the cilantro and tomatoes in last, after the chili and onions have had a chance to soften.  For stronger cilantro and/or chili flavor, do not saute.)
3. Shred chicken when it is cooked and return to pot.  Add sautéed vegetables to the pot.
4. Halve the limes and squeeze the juice into the pot, then toss the rinds in the pot as well.  Simmer for about ten more minutes to absorb the flavors, then serve.

This recipe had a slightly more involved cooking process than I usually go for but was definitely worth the effort.  It was just as good cold this morning for breakfast.  =]

-Ariel

Friday Feminist Quick Clicks, 5

Links for now, Chicken and Lime Soup for later…

• Even if you don’t click any other link I post, you should still click this one. On children receiving life without parole, and the story of one woman who was punished with that when she was 16 for killing the man who forced her into prostitution for the previous 3 years.
• Emily Cummins, a 22-year-old University of Leeds student, received a Barclays Women of the Year award after inventing a sustainable fridge.
• Obama nominates the first openly LGBTQ US Marshall
• Marvels line of womens comic book characters Halloween characters are clearly not for children.  Ugh,
• Women farmers and Hillary Clinton is still awesome. (I was going to link to the link within this one, but then felt I didn’t need to as anyone who wants to read it can click it there.)
• Two big newspapers in Maine have come out against Question 1.
• There is a new FDA approved HPV vaccine available to women in America…
• And Gardasil is now approved for boys.
• <3 Rachel Maddow (on Question 1 in Maine.)  And/or watch a clip from her show.
• A story about female circumcision reversals.
• Kuwaiti women have been granted passport rights.
• Vintage sexism.
• Sarah Haskins on Jezebel.
• Obama administration moving forward with LGBTQ rights.
• Pic of the day with Michelle Obama still being awesome.
• Its about time I read a post that looked into this.  Working fathers want to spend more time with their kids. Who knew?
• Skin bleaching and nose jobs.  Ugh, more photoshop fail.
• Republicans in Congress… there’s an app for that.
• Yahoo! sexism fail.
• Pink, women-only taxis are introduced in the Mexican city Puebla.
• First domestic violence, now rape? What else are health insurance companies using to deny women coverage?
• Improv Everywhere.  Brightening the days of random people just trying to buy their groceries.  Because too much of what I link to is depressing.
• Disgusting Kleenex advertisements. “because women—especially moms—are as disposable as tissues…. And instead of being given the decidedly dubious honor of being regarded as fuck-holes, the woman have been yet further demoted to cum rags.”
• Woman arrested for assault while having a seizure. WTF?

Lettuce Wraps

Messy to eat, but so good…

Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:

• half kilo/1lb: minced/ground chicken
• 5 cloves garlic
• 2 large chili peppers, deseeded and chopped
• 2 tbsp peanut or sesame oil
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• a large handful of fresh basil
• coriander, salt, pepper to taste
• lettuce leaves (I used iceberg, but I suppose anything with leaves large enough to make a wrap out of works.)

Cook:

1. Fry chicken and chili in oil until chicken is cooked.
2. Add soy sauce, fish sauce, seasonings, and garlic.  Mix in and cook another minute or two for the flavors to absorb.
3. Serve with a side of whole lettuce leaves to scoop the mix in a wrap with, and maybe a side of rice if desired.

Enjoy!

-Ariel

Flower Hats

My latest crocheting project is hats for my host kids and host mom.  I found the flowers in ‘The Happy Hooker” by Debbie Stoller, so if you want the pattern for those you can find them on pages 242 & 243.  That hats are super easy, I made each in a day (I have a lot of free time.)

Flower Hats

(Using a J hook, worsted weight wool, and working in spiral rounds)

1. Chain 4
2. DC 8 in loop. (8)
3. DC 2 in ea st. (16)
4. DC 2 in ea st. (32)
5. HDC around (32.  To prevent ruffling and because I like changes in texture.)
6. *DC 2, DC in next 3* rpt. (40.  For the kids I stopped increasing here.)
7. *DC 2, DC in next 2* rpt (48)
8. DC around
9. HDC around
10. Continue DCing rounds alternating every 2 or 3 rows with a HDC round until it covers the tops of the ears of the person it is for, ending in a HDC (even if it isn’t an even count.)  I’m pretty sure both of my hats ended up being between 16 and 18 rounds total.

Oh, and the flowers are safety pinned on, not sewn on (though you can do as you like, of course) just in case they aren’t feeling the flower at any given time.

-Ariel

Banana-Chocolate Marbled Muffins

I know I’ve already done the banana-chocolate muffin thing, but even though my last recipe tasted good it wasn’t muffin-y enough for me, so I’ve done some research on the internet about the properties and uses of baking soda and have made a new, deliciously moist recipe.  And I decided to marble it because that always looks impressive (I think.)

To being honest (and because you’ll find this out anyway when you check out the pics below) I was a bit lazy when making these (plus I had a three year old ‘helping’ so I couldn’t get too complicated) so I did not make many normal-sized muffin.  I made one massive cake-muffin.  Still delicious, we’re eating it by the slice, but you may have to adjust the cook time.  Maybe, I don’t know.  It’s done when it looks done and passes the toothpick/knife test.

Banana-Chocolate Marbled Muffins

Ingredients:

• Batter:
• 125g/1 stick: butter
• 200g / about one and a quarter 6oz tubs: banana yogurt
• 2 eggs
• 150g/ a little over half a cup: white sugar
• 100g/a little under half a cup: brown sugar
• tsp vanilla
• tsp baking powder
• less than half a tsp baking soda
• 250g/2 cups: flour
• Marbling:
• 2 bananas
• 2 tsp cocoa powder
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp banana yogurt

Cook:

1. Pre-heat oven 170′C/350′F ish and grease or paper muffin pans
2. In a large bowl, mix the batter in the order listed
3. In a smaller bowl, mash the bananas and stir in other ingredients
4. Layer batter with marbling mixture in pans.  Run a knife through it for marbling effect  (Heres a video on how to. Skip to the 4:30 minute mark for the part on marbling.)
5. I baked my massive muffin-cake for 40 minutes and let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes.  Your mileage may vary.  I’d start with 30 minutes and poke the muffins every 5 minutes after to see how they are (thats what I did.)

-Ariel