Les Misérables, gratitude, anxiety, and more gratitude*

On Sunday afternoon, I saw Les Misérables the movie. I had seen it performed when I was a child, in a production that came to Perth and was performed in our outdoor quarry amphitheater  My memories of that performance are a little hazy, but the power of the story and music have remained with me since. I went on to read the book as a teenager, which provided me with background (and extra words) to the musical.

There is a lot written on the movie Les Misérables, and I don't intend to try and repeat it here. I will simply say that I loved it. Adored it, even. I was swept up in the story, the music and the emotion from start to finish. I thought the acting was incredible. Les Misérables has joined Love Actually and Black Swan in my favourite movie list.

Irrelevant photo #1. Bottlebrush atop Reabold Hill, Perth.

I also left the cinema determined to remember how fortunate I am. I have not experienced crippling poverty, known what it is to lack basic necessities, slept on the streets, been beaten or imprisoned, had a child I couldn't support, or lost people I love to war or revolution. The movie opened my eyes to what I already know, but am prone to forgetting when life gets busy or difficult or tiring: I am lucky in my life. And even when my life is busy or difficult or tiring, it is still easier than some people's lives.

This renewed vigor and thankfulness lasted, oh, about 4 hours. By Sunday evening I was worrying about work-related matters, and I proceeded to start the new week more anxious than I have been for some time. My efforts to remind myself of my good fortune were swept away by an internal panic button that decided this was the week it wanted to be pressed.

Irrelevant photo #2. Kalamunda National Park, Perth hills. No panic here.

I am a little unimpressed with myself.

In an effort to re-capture some of that post-movie gratitude, I focused today on finding 5 small things for which I was thankful. As it turns out, I found 6 by midday.

Here is my list.

1. A husband who, last night, made me laugh until I cried.
2. A cool breeze on my morning run; being able to run injury-free; and being moderately distracted from my thought processes when running (this is a 3 in 1 special).
3. My morning coffee with unsweetened almond milk. Perfection.
4. My workplace having functional air conditioning after 2 weeks without it.
5. Multiple books on my bedside table, patiently waiting until I choose to sink into them (incorporating birthday and Christmas titles as well as Lonely Planet library loans).
6. Daydreaming of a camper van and expansive distances in the Northern Territory and Queensland.

Irrelevant photo #3. Ladder to nowhere.

For similar thoughts on daily happiness, see Lisa's blog Blithe Moments.

Do you find yourself slipping back to complacency after trying to be mindful of good fortune or similar? Please tell me it isn't just me...

* Alternative post titles included "Why Les Misérables changed my life for four hours", "Why I need to watch Les Misérables daily".

Tweet

Linda McCartney vegetarian sausages and an outdoor film

Two or so years ago, I encountered Linda McCartney's vegetarian sausages when at a barbecue with Mr Bite's family. Vegetarian sausages have always seemed a bit fake to me, although I do eat them on occasion. However, the Linda McCartney brand tasted entirely different to any variety I'd had before. I left the barbecue determined to track them down at the one Perth supermarket that supposedly stocked them.

Two years later, I still haven't visited that supermarket. However, I did recently discover them at another supermarket I visit on occasion. There were other varieties of the Linda McCartney range too, and on looking online, there are many other products that I would like to try if they appeared locally.

The ingredient list for these sausages isn't particularly inspiring, and it's difficult to know where the flavour comes from. Perhaps the lack of soy makes a difference, but whatever the reason, these do taste wonderful. They don't taste like meat, and they don't taste like fake vegetarian meat, and really the main thing I can say about them is that they taste good.

We had them last night when we needed an early dinner and I wanted something that wouldn't use the oven (too hot). They paired nicely with green salad and cold potatoes and lived up to my memories of two years earlier. I definitely prefer them to the other varieties of vegetable sausages I've tried.

Our early dinner was needed because last night also included an excursion to an outdoor film screening, run as part of the Perth International Arts Festival. The summer film festival has been running for years, so it is a bit embarrassing that I hadn't been to one of the screenings previously.

There are two locations showing films, one quite centrally located and one in the northern Perth suburbs. We went for the central option, which is enclosed within trees and located not far from the Perth river. We had hoped that the combination of trees and river might bring some cool temperatures, but alas, it was still 29'C when the movie finished at 10pm.

Temperature aside, I loved the setting and found the cloth, beach-style seats more comfortable than traditional movie theatre chairs.

The movie itself, Safety Not Guaranteed, was enjoyed by both of us and managed to blend drama, comedy, science fiction and romance in a way that worked surprisingly well (and no doubt increased the possible audience by covering so many categories!).

It might have been hot, but it was a lovely summer night all the same.

Have you tried anything from the Linda McCartney range?
Or seen many non-mainstream films?

Tweet

On films, and pineapple cashew balls

Over the weekend, Mr Bite and I were updating and looking over our Google Doc spreadsheet of the films we've seen.

(Yes, we have a spreadsheet of the films we've seen. With ratings by each of us.)

(Bear with me.)

It dawned on me that this spreadsheeted information might be worth sharing. As a counterbalance to my books, you see, but on a one-off basis only. I see fewer movies than I read books, and care about them less, so I think a one-off post will do just fine.

Our spreadsheet says that I saw 20 films in 2011, of which 3 were at the cinema (the rest were mostly recorded from TV). 2010 was somewhat more productive in a viewing sense, with 31 films seen overall and 4 at the cinema.

Our spreadsheet only goes back to mid-2009, but since then I have given 2 films 9.5 / 10 ratings:

• Black Swan, seen at the movies in January 2011. This film captivated me with its psychology, ballet, filming effects, and plot twists. I thought Natalie Portman was outstanding.

• Love Actually, seen most recently in July 2009, but watched many, many times previously. This is one of my favourite movies ever. It is one of a handful of DVDs I own. With 2.5 years gone since  I last saw it, I suspect it's time for another re-run.

In addition to the above, 6 films received 9 / 10 ratings:

• V for Vendetta, recorded from TV and watched in March 2011. Scary and clever and captivating.

• Moon, watched at an outdoor cinema screening in Perth in February 2010. I ate sushi for dinner, lay back on the grass, and was completely caught up in the science fiction plot.

• Wall-E, watched on a DVD from the library in February 2010. If you haven't seen this animated movie - find it. And watch it. It is great!

• The Dark Knight, recorded from TV and watched in December 2009. I found this disturbing, but good. Perhaps even disturbingly good.

• Changeling, watched on a DVD from the library in October 2009. Oddly, Mr Bite and I both gave this 9/10 but on looking over our ratings struggled to remember the film. We recalled it after looking it up, but I think perhaps I over-rated it at the time.

• Star Trek (the latest one), seen at the movies in June 2009. This rating may reflect the fact that it was the first formal date for Mr Bite and I. I was too anxious to take in much of the movie, so I can only assume my rating reflects him rather than movie content!

Honourable mentions can also go to Amelie, Iron Man, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and Avatar, which I gave 8.5 ratings to, and Sherlock Holmes 2: A Game of Shadows, which we just saw last weekend (at the movies no less). I gave that a rating of 8.25, in part, I suspect, due to Robert Downey Jr. and Stephen Fry both being in it.

And there we have a snapshot of my movie-related entertainment from the last 2 years. 

Moving on to topics that may be more entertaining to the rest of the world, I revisited the above papaya and cashew balls on the weekend. The original papaya version was super easy, delightfully pink, and extremely delicious. The batch I made as a Christmas gift was well received by my Mum, and I've been contemplating possible variations ever since.

This contemplation resulted in pineapple cashew balls:

I have always linked dried papaya with dried pineapple, I think because I often got both in my Christmas stocking as a child. They still seem far more exciting and 'special' to me than other dried fruits.

These pineapple and cashew balls are made to the exact same recipe as the papaya ones, but with a direct swap of pineapple for papaya: 1 cup dried pineapple, 1/2 cup cashews, 1/4 cup dessicated coconut, and 1tsp vanilla processed in a food processor, rolled into balls, coated in extra dessicated coconut (or in my case, coconut flakes, because the dessicated coconut ran out), and refrigerated until set.

Still easy.

Still quite nice looking.

And still quite delicious.

I will confess to liking the papaya ones slightly better, as the flavour and colour of those were more intense than the pineapple variant. The pineapple provides a more subtle sweetness, which was still enjoyable, but didn't quite have the 'punch' of the papaya.

I think making both together would be the perfect solution.

What about you - do you have favourite movies? What about uses for dried pineapple?

Tweet

A movie review and non-vegan chocolate mud cake muffins

Both components of this post are a little unusual for me. I don't usually do movie reviews (I don't see very many movies!) and most of the recipes I post are recipes that reflect my taste preferences.

Today, I'm branching out.

First up, a movie. I noted back in August that my book club group read The Help, which focuses on racial tensions in 1960s Mississppi, through the writing of a (fictional) book containing stories from the black 'help' who are employed, and controlled, by white families.

Last night, 5 of our group went to see the movie version. I was looking forward to seeing it, but didn't have very high expectations as I had read rather mixed reviews. The main criticisms seemed to be that it was too long, at well over 2 hours (not something I usually enjoy in a film), and that the ideas underpinning the book and film weren't explored as well as they could have been.

Source

As it turns out, I really liked this movie. I thought the actors did a wonderful job, particularly Bryce Dallas Howard as the unlikable but well played Hilly Holbrook, Viola Davis as the central Aibileen, and Octavia Spencer as sassy Minny. The movie didn't follow the book precisely, but I found the variations from the text to be understandable, and sensible for a film adaptation. It didn't provide any answers, but I thought it addressed the central issues and race conflicts with poise and consideration, and also humour.

The 1960s outfits were pretty impressive, too. Who knew I liked that time period so much for fashion?

Source

Amazingly, I also got through the movie without being bored. Given my usually short attention span for TV or movies, and the running time of nearly 2.5 hours, this was quite impressive.

All in all, it was a film I would recommend - although, as always, I would recommend reading the book first.

As the title of this post suggests, I also have a mud cake muffin recipe today. You see, Mr Bite doesn't always share my preferences for vegan, raw, and/or vegetable-based baking. He often likes the end product, but it probably wouldn't be his first preference.

These muffins were for him.

Chocolate mud cake muffins with a hint of peppermint

Adapted from this recipe

Makes 12 small or 6 large muffins

Ingredients:

For the muffins-

• 125g butter or margarine, roughly chopped
• 100g dark chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 1 tsp peppermint extract
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2/3 cup plain flour
• 1/4 cup self-raising flour
• 2 tbsp good-quality cocoa powder
• 1 egg

For the icing-

• 1 medium avocado (ok, not quite traditional...)
• 1/3 cup good-quality cocoa powder
• 250g icing sugar
• Few drops of peppermint essence

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 160'C and prepare a 12-pan muffin tray (or a 6-pan tray if you're making large muffins).

2. In a heat-proof bowl, combine the butter, chocolate, hot water, and milk. Heat over a medium saucepan on low heat, or in the microwave, until the ingredients have melted and the mixture is smooth. I used the microwave on 50% power and it took about 2 minutes, in 30 second bursts.

3. Remove the chocolate mixture from the heat and add the peppermint essence and brown sugar. Stir to combine and set aside to cool slightly.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg and add the flours and cocoa powder. Add the melted chocolate mixture to this bowl and mix with a hand whisk until ingredients are combined. 

5. Divide the mixture across the prepared muffin pans and bake for 15 - 20 minutes, until the muffins are cooked through. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

6. When the muffins are cool, prepare the icing by combining the avocado, cocoa and icing sugar in a food processor or with an electric beater. Mix until smooth and the avocado is fully processed. 

I think next time I would add more peppermint essence, as Mr Bite didn't pick up on it as a distinct flavour. However, the muffins were definitely dense and chocolatey. They were also surprisingly easy, being made and baked within 45 minutes.

Hopefully they've gone some way towards countering the tofu dinners, vegan experiments, and quinoa side dishes!

Have you seen The Help? What are your thoughts on film adaptations of books?

Tweet