North & South

Last night, Megan and I had the pleasure of seeing the 2004 BBC adaptation of "North & South". Neither of us knew what it was. Megan had a heard of the author of the book, Elizabeth Gaskell, who was a contemporary of Dickens. The story, which takes four hours to tell and reminds me somewhat of Jane Austen, is about Margaret Hale who has to leave her home in the south for the industrial town of Milton to the north. Her family must adjust to a new kind of life, and mourn for the loss of their home and friends.

Through all the trials that they witness and endure, Margaret begins to adjust to her new life and soon makes friends with many of the mill workers while at the same time making enemies with Mr. Thornton, one of the owners of the mills. So of course we all know that he is going to be the love interest!!

I found a fan made trailer on youtube that will hopefully illustrate the awesomenes of this movie to you. Four hours is a long time, but it is definitely worth it!

Margaret is played by Daniela Darby-Ashe and Mr. Thornton is played by Richard Armitage.

Mon-star!

Frankenstein
by Mary Shelley
1818
pp. 352

Rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book starts out a little slow, but it is so good! Something interesting that I discovered the last time I read this book was the message it sends about becoming what society claims you to be. Dr. Frankenstein's creature originally desired nothing but basic physical needs and companionship, but he was so grotesque-looking that he was rejected and feared as a monster whenever he was seen. In time, he actually becomes this monster that everyone assumes him to be and seeks revenge on the doctor who abandoned him soon after giving him life. If you know anything about sociology or Howard Becker, labling theory comes to mind. If you call a person something long enough, odds are he will begin to see himself that way and will become whatever they have been labled as.

This novel is a little Phantom-of-the-Opera-ish in that there are moments when you feel so sorry for the monster, but there are also many times when you wish him dead.

Chewy Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

I just made the most delicious cookies. I was randomly craving double chocolate chip cookies, so I went to the most beloved recipezaar.com and fortuitously found this recipe. DELICOUS. Some comments suggested going half and half on the white and brown sugars, but I used all white, and the cookies were heavenly. The dough is really thick, so when it says to fold in the chocolate chips, it means that in the most literal sense. My cookies weren't flattening in the oven, so I smashed them with a spoon when there were only a few minutes left to the baking time.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups margarine
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups chocolate chips

Directions:
Cream together margaringe and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Blend in cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Add flour and fold in chocolate chips. Bake at 350° for 8-9 minutes.

Wuthering Heights: Another Nineteenth Century Romance?

Wuthering Heights
By Emily Bronte
1847
pp: 336

Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights has been making a comeback with the recent popularity of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series. References to the classic novel within Meyer's series has influenced fans to expand their literary horizons; however, not all Twilight fans have a taste for classic literature. One even said Wuthering Heights was "very heavy to read and digest, [and it was] written in the language of my great grandmother….The more the pages go on, the less you feel that the story is advancing.” You can find that article here. Well, I don’t know what kind of language this person was expecting from a nineteenth century novel, but I did not find the language the least bit difficult (except when a minor character, Joseph, was speaking in his nearly incomprehensible dialect); however, that could be credited to my familiarity with classic novels.

This is not intended to be a Twilight review, and the series is really uncomparible to Wuthering Heights, although some say Isabella Swan is a modern representation of Catherine Earnshaw. For those of you who have read both Meyer's and Bronte's work, you will know how rediculous this idea is. If Bella represented anyone from Wuthering Heights, it would have to be Isabella Linton. Not only do they share a name, but they also share a love of demonic men. I will say no more concerning the Twilight saga than this: It baffles me when a person asserts the creative genius of Stephenie Meyer over that of Emily Bronte.

It is not difficult to see why a person would consider Wuthering Heights “heavy” because, yes, it involves complex characters and a substantial plot that leaves readers something to consider. It is the complexity of the novel that makes it so fascinating. As children, the mischievous qualities of Catherine and Heathcliff, seem fun and relatively harmless, but as the adventure-seeking duo grows older, Catherine becomes more spoiled and vain, while Heathcliff becomes angrier and more spiteful. There is no clearly defined protagonist or antagonist in Wuthering Heights; in fact, I found the majority of the characters repulsive with their fiery tempers and violent fits that were so appalling to the public when the book was first published under the pseudonym of “Ellis Bell” in 1847. There is a certain shock factor that remains for contemporary readers, as well. One cannot help but be disgusted with the scenes of domestic violence and unspeakable cruelty towards others: knives are thrown, puppies are hanged, and children are dropped over the banister. At the same time, there are moments when it is difficult not to sympathize in at least a small degree with characters such as Heathcliff, who was hated by his adopted brother and, as a gypsy child, was treated with prejudice by those outside his family. Even Catherine abandoned him for the less degrading company of the Lintons while still professing, “If all else perished, and [Heathcliff] remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger.”

Wuthering Heights is not your typical love story by any means; in many ways, it is the antithesis of a love story. Heathcliff’s unhealthy obsession towards Catherine is the root of all conflict in the novel. If it were not for my endless mound of homework for other classes, I would have finished this book in one sitting. The insanity of Heathcliff and the anarchy he creates drove me forward. I saw no way for the story to end on a happy note, which only increased my compelling need to know what was written on the last page. Many times, unhappy endings are more interesting to me than happy ones because there is generally more to think about. Whether or not this ending is happy is debateable, and I am not going to tell you what I thought, but I will tell you that this book is amazing. And so is this:

Sweet Pork Deliciousness

Unfortunately I do not have pictures of this for you, but trust me, it's delicious. So basically you make all different parts of the recipe and then wrap it all in a tortilla and eat it!! Here it is!

Pork

Ingredients
3.5 lbs pork roast
1 bottle taco sauce (8oz)
1T cumin
1C brown sugar
1 can coke (not diet)

Cook pork in pot on low for 6 hours (cover roast half with water. I cooked for a couple of hours on high and switched to low, that made it shred easier; also, when you add the other ingredients, please take out some of the water, leaving only about half in. in the bottom of the pot) Add ingred. To pork 3 hours before it is done.

Lime rice

Ingredients
In a saucepan, sauté:
2T butter
1 yellow onion
4 cloves garlic, minced

in a large pot, bring to a boil the following:
6 2/3 cups water
8t chicken buillion
½ bunch cilantro chopped
2t cumin
2 sm cans diced green chilies
1T lime juice
½ t pepper
3 cups rice (maybe half cup more, you'll have to play with it.)

Tomatilo dressing

Ingredients
1 pkg Hidden Valley Buttermilk Ranch Dressing mix
1C buttermilk
1 C mayo
1 to 2 tomatillos
½ to 1 clove garlic, minced
½ to 1/3 bunch cilantro, chopped
½ t lime juice
½ to 1 small jalapeno, seed removed
(blend in food processor and add to buttermilk dressing)

Black Beans

Ingredients
4 cups black beans
1 onion chopped
4 cloves garlic
8 cups water

cook in crock pot on low 10 hours add salt and salsa when done (to taste)


I hope that makes sense. The next time we make it, I'll take some pictures.

Their Eyes Were Watching God

Their Eyes Were Watching God
By Zora Neale Hurston
1937
pp. 184
-- Included on Time Magazine's "100 Best English-language Novels from 1923-2005" list.

This is another one of my favorite books. I remember reading it my senior year of high school and really enjoying it; however, I couldn't remember any details before I reread it this semester. Mostly I remembered being involved in some sort of group project concerning the novel, and we would get together at Starbucks. Mmm...raspberry hot chocolate. Anyway, my love for Their Eyes Were Watching God was recently renewed. Oprah Winfrey loved this book so much, she had it made into a film. After seeing one particular Youtube clip, I must say it looks pretty cheesy, but I think I'm going to have to watch it anyway. I'll let you know how it goes.

The story begins with Janie returning to Eatonville, Florida, an all black community, after spending some time away with her third husband, Virgible Woods, more commonly known as Tea Cake. The town has been gossiping about what supposedly happened to Tea Cake and why he has not returned with his wife, but Janie's good friend, Phoeby, is the only one she takes the time to share the truth with. Janie takes us through all three of her marriages, the role she plays in each, and her progression towards a loving relationship and, eventually, independence. Near the beginning of the novel, her grandmother tells her that the black woman is the mule of the world because when a white man gives a job to a black man, the black man gives it to the black woman. This concept is illustrated throughout the novel, and although Janie's life is difficult, and her story is generally an unhappy one, the reader is able to see Janie grow as a character, overcome her role as "mule of the world," and learn how to live for herself.

Hurston chooses to write the dialogue in the dialect of the time and culture in which the novel takes place. Some find this frustrating, but one cannot deny the effect this dialect has on the spirit of the novel. It is not degrading to the black culture as some people say; the white police officers in the book use the same dialect. I can't seem to put it into words, but this dialect is necessary for this novel to be the masterpiece that it is. This detail helps depict the black community as it was at the time and adds to one of many messages Hurston expresses: although differences between cultures exist, there are certain human experiences and emotions that cross those barriers.

"The wind came back with triple fury, and put out the light for the last time. They sat in company with the others in other shanties, their eyes straining against crude walls and their souls asking if He meant to measure their puny might against His. They seemed to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching God."

(I'm sorry if referring to people as black and white is not politically correct. Actually, I'm not, although I mean no disrespect. I love all children of God equally. I just don't generally use the term "African-American." My ancestors didn't originate in America either, but you don't expect people to call me "Irish-Scottish-English-German-American.")

Scones: When Elephant Ears Go Wrong

I recently had a carnival night with my roommates and FHE sisters. Basically, we ate carnival food, hung out, and played Curses (click here to see our review on Curses). We had a grand ol' time. We had originally planned on making elephant ears, but we filled ourselves up on corndogs and peanutbutter carmel corn. Delicious. We did, however, attempt elephant ears the next day with a recipe I found on http://www.recipezaar.com/ (Danielle's called for powdered milk, which we did not have). The funny thing about this recipe is that it calls for eggs, but it never tells you when to add them in the instructions, so I forgot about them. They turned out more like scones, but were heavenly nonetheless. So much so, that we made them again a few days later. Here is the recipe as we made it:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups milk

4 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

Oil (for frying)

1 tsp. salt

2 (1/4 ounce) packages yeast

6 Tbs butter/margerine

1 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 cup Sugar (combined)

Directions:
In small pan combine milk, sugar, salt and shortening. Heat only enough to melt butter. Do not boil. Remove from heat, and let cool to a temperature that won't kill the yeast. In a large bowl, combine cooled mixture with yeast; stir to dissolve yeast. Stir in flour 2 cups at a time, beating by hand until smooth. Place dough in a large greased bowl. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled. Gently stretch out dough into flat circles of whatever size you wish them to be. Note: even though you flatten the dough, it will puff up a lot. Fry in oil until brown on bottom, then flip and brown other side. Drain on paper towels, and roll in cinnamon and sugar while still hot.