GET OFF MY LAWN!!!!!!

Someone saw Gran Torino this weekend and absolutely loved it..I wasn't sure I would because since it came out in December, I was constantly making fun of the commercials for it by growling to my dad, "GET OFF MY LAWN!" and telling him to be that kind of grandpa to Allie and Jake by muttering to them in a Clint-ish manner "GO AHEAD-MAKE MY DAY...SIT ON MY LAP AND CUDDLE"! But it did get really good reviews and turns out, I liked it so much, I could have totally walked back in the theater and watched it all over again. I'd like my dad to see it since I think Clint's character could just be his new hero - but with the caveat that he not try to go after the Asian gang members in the same way...I did feel a wee bit guilty laughing at some of the racial slurs, but hey, I never claimed to be morally perfect :-) Plus, the guilt was forgotten soon enough with the BMC (Brooklyn Married Couple) over a glass or 3 of good "mawn-teh-pool-CHAH-noh" and pasta at John's in un paese dell'est - sorry if I'm butchering Italian there, I just looked up East Village on some online translator and this is what I got - hey guys, give me a break, I'm only trying to be cute!

On a side note, BMC invited me to come up to the Bronx with them yesterday to watch the Superbowl at "The Priory" - now I assumed this was some sort of Irish pub and almost said yes but then settled on a no because I had a few chores to take care of. Then I discovered that the Priory is indeed a PRIORY - meaning full of Brothers and Priests and Priests To Be - now wouldn't that have been a riot? Beer-addled Holy Men, full of wings and spewing curse words at the TV! Well, I don't know what really went on there, but it could have been a good tale to tell if I had gone - sounds to me like BMC might have gotten themselves banned from further monastery visits!! (Don't worry, I'm only kidding - they are related to one of the Fathers)!

I did want to share a good recipe with you that I just crafted all on my own yesterday and the taste totally reminded me of my beloved childhood fave Alpine Village soup so I imagine it would taste QUITE yummy with pumpernickel bread and/or oyster crackers - it's easy to make and pretty healthy. I had an extra can of pumpkin puree from December because I thought I had to make another pumpkin pie but I never got around to it - so I decided to turn it into soup. I'm crafty like that. I swear, I can make soup out of anything. It's the Russian-German peasant in me.

So take a 19 oz can, put it in a pot, along with about 4 cups of water and a dash of chili powder - bring to a boil and then simmer until it's all mixed up. I added a packet of powdered chicken bouillon but you could have just started with 4 cups of stock.

In a separate pan, saute 1 yellow onion in a tbp or so of butter or olive oil for about 10 minutes or until translucent, then add 2 garlic cloves minced, a tsp of chili powder, 1/4 tsp of salt. When this started to caramelize, I added it to the pumpkin pot - you want it nice and brown and about to dissolve kind of softness - along with about an inch worth of grated ginger (you could eliminate this if you don't care for the spiciness of ginger but I thought it gave it a nice kick - or add in a smelly sneaker a la Willy Wonka) and about a tsp of lemon juice. Let this simmer for an hour or so to really let all the flavors marry - I began it while I was doing laundry so I tasted some right after I put stuff in the dryer and it tasted more delicate and then ate a REAL bowl after my stuff was out of the dryer and it tasted WOW POW KABLAM! good. And of course, add in more lemon, salt, pepper, as you deem necessary.

Now it's today and it's not so very cold out - it's downright balmy in fact - and I decided to wear a dress and tights while I can since its supposed to snow tonight (yay!) and drop far far down and only be in the 20's and teens all week and the sad thing is, I'm not enjoying the cuteness and sassiness of my dress since my tights seem to have regressed into those of a 7 year old and keep falling down and like a little girl, I keep hiking them up. Good thing I have an office door I can close to adjust them! Since walking to the train this morning, I've been singing in my head:

"My tights are falling down,

My tights are falling down,

High ho the merry oh,

My tights are falling down"

Yes, I really have been singing that to myself. And yes I make myself smile at myself because I realize, once again, it is true: I am a dork.

But oh well...be true to your school...