looking for a christmas gift?

Here I have put together some recommendations of gifts shown to me by a few friends:

"Why Mommy is a Democrat" children's book

(find it here)

The Ex-A knife block for the newly single friend

(find it here)

Aquariass- the Aquarium Toilet

(find it here)

(note: this is not my wishlist)

the pom-pom

For all of the rants and raves about this miracle fruit, I decided to finally buy one and try it. And my expectations were pretty high after paying $2 for just one at the Santa Monica farmers market.
My only question: how the heck do you eat one of these things?
After some experimentation and coaching (thanks Em)-
The answer: less like a grapefruit, more like an orange...

I'm a student!

King said to me the other day, in the most amused tone "You're a student again."
And it feels good to be back.
It's third week already in my program at CSULB. For those catching up, I am in a MA program for Speech Pathology. I have a year of prerequisites to take (undergrad upper div), so it is going to be at least 3 years till I am done. Most people go this route though, because it is such a specified field, not too many choose to get an undergrad degree. So this means that I have a good group of people going through all of this with me. My group is all female; I think out of the 50+ students in the department there are 3 guys. It's really unfortunate, because I think certain clients would do really well if they had a male clinician, but there just aren't too many in the field for that to happen much. On a tangent, last night at the clinic the director commented that the clients are doing better with clinicians using the same language (instead of a translator) or of the same sex. It makes sense-- there is a connection there.
As I said- I went to my first clinic observation last night. It was great! It wasn't the first time I had been at a speech session, far from that. But it stood out more than the others. I think I just love the controlled setting that a University affords in their clinics-- specific clientele, great supervision, high value put on data driven/empirically sound practices. I am again reminded how much I appreciate research and empirically supported practices that come from it.
On a side note, I have become the very talkative, lots of questions girl in class. Alittle surprising, not really. I guess I just forgot about that part of me when I was in those large lectures or intimidating small classes at UCSD. Other people have said that my questions are helpful, but I think I might quiet down.....a bit.

Food for the Vegan in You

Mexican Tomato Rice & Beans

from: Fine Cooking Magazine
serves 6
time: 30 minutes

Two of my favorite people came over for dinner in my new apartment last week, and it is always an adventure to find something to make. As one of the two feels that all meat eaters are going to rot in hell (he told me that last night), I settled on the following recipe paired with portabello and red pepper tacos. It turned out quite scruptious, and we saved an animal that night. I'm doing my part (once every other week?) to liberate our furry friends from the bondage of commercial farming.

Rice

• 1 cup uncooked medium grain white rice (Jasmine)
• 1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 jalapeno chopped (leave out the seeds, unless you like spicy)
• 1 can black beans rinsed
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped

In a covered saucepan or rice cooker, simmer rice with 2 cups water for 20 minutes, then remove from heat. While rice cooks, drain tomatoes straining the liquid into a 1 cup measure. Add enough water to the tomato juice to equal 1 cup. Saute garlic and jalapeno in skillet with olive oil for 1 minute. Add black beans, salt, cumin, chili powder, oregano- stir and cook for 1 minute to incorporate spices. Add tomato juice and bring to a boil, cooking for 5-7 minutes until liquid reduces by half. Add tomatoes, cilantro and rice. Cook until warm (1-2 minutes).

Mike: "Bitchin! Love this rice and bean combo. Great flavors from all of the spices and the beans provide a wonderful texture. A 9 on the scale." Katie: "I'm not a big fan of rice dishes, but love this one! Fresh cilantro freshens up the flavors. Pairs well with a lovely Syrah Rose." Nicole: "Alittle dry (Katie and Mike say no), but I would just not boil off as much tomato juice next time. Otherwise, good flavor and very filling."

the hills are alive!

with the sound of muuuuuuuusic.

Ah- just got back from the stage performance at the Hollywood Bowl, and I am wired. It was none of that sing along movie stuff. Just the real thing.

Something has been bothering me though. I feel a bit ashamed of my generation. All the buzz of the youngsters around me was 'hey did you know that Captain von Trapp is played by the dad on Smallville' and 'hey the Liesl character is the girl from Desperate Housewives- Terri Hatcher's daughter.'

Nothing was said (except by the conductor) about the 4 time Emmy winning Marni Nixon (who played the head nun), who was the female lead singing voice in such classic films as The King and I, An Affair to Remember, and My Fair Lady. Not to mention that Captain von Trapp (John Schneider) starred in the original TV Dukes of Hazzard, a TV icon that will last far longer than Smallville.

Is my generation (and more so, those younger than me) so obsessed with pop culture that we fail to recognize industry greats when they are right in front of us? Maybe it's because I watched Breakfast at Tiffany's today for the first time, and have a invigorated appreciation for the classics (except for that strong distaste for their racism), not to mention a love of everything Audrey. (and now I want to watch all of those classic movies I always hear about if anyone is interested or has any suggestions, the ones above are definitely on the list)

I am almost too ashamed to admit though, that through most of the movie I was tracking how Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City was partly modeled after Holly Golightly. And the only way I know that the movie greatly deviates from the book, and even that the book is written by the great American writer Truman Capote, is from a Seinfeld episode.....I'm as bad as the rest of them. Although I will say that I think both Sex and the City and Seinfeld are going to stand the test of time and dare I say be considered classics in their own right.

On a tangent, below is one of my favorite Slim Aarons' photographs:

Capote at Home