Finished!

Hey all!

Sorry it has been awhile. I am taking a TESL course on the weekends so I can't post on Saturday or Sunday until next week.

(Warning a few spoilers ahead - if you aren't finished reading don't read this post yet)

In other news: I finished Jurassic Park. I really liked it! I have to admit I was surprised that by the end the book won me over. Since I'd already watched the movie I was afraid it would be just a repeat (even though the book came first) of a story I already knew really well. While this is sort of true there is a lot of substance and tension in the novel that was deleted from the film. Ian Malcolm's character for one is a major change! His theories and constant sermoning in the novel is a little 'deus ex machina', if you ask me, but it was insightful and served as Crichton's social criticism. There were also a few moments where the circumstances were unbelievable (the kids had a few moments and the dramatic justice at the end was a little much) - but that being said the book was a great read, fast paced, with likable characters and an ambiguous ending.

It is also ingenious! I don't know much about science and genetics but Crichton's ideas are really

cool and inventive. They are basically the same as in the movie but with alot more info and context in the novel. The bugs in the amber is just brilliant - I don't know how realistic but I think that this novel is a very believable science fiction in that the secondary or fictional world is very very close to our own. This novel really made me appreciate how much research must have gone into it - the descriptions of the dinosaurs, the paleontology theories, the genetics (as I've said), the knowledge of resorts and businesses, international law - Chrichton certainly did his homework.

Anyways, I'm going to cut this post a little short because I know that Mike and Mel (my boyfriend and my sister who I live with) aren't finished the book yet and you may not be either.

As for a recipe I shall be posting one later today or tomorrow morning!

Happy Reading!

The Suspense!

Hey All!

I remember watching Jurassic Park when I was 9 or 10 (so only 2 or 3 years after it came out in theatres in 1993) and the suspense of the film is certainly evident in the novel. I must also say that Crichton’s focus on the morality of science, the great power that science can wield and the commentary on the evils of a commercial society was unexpected but welcome introduction to the story. I don’t want to get into it too much now, because I don’t want to give too much away but: Yay dinosaurs!

Anyways...

During the first couple of books I plan on hammering down a posting, reading, watching and recipe schedule. For now I thought I should post a recipe just to let you all know (and to figure out) how it goes. I was thinking that the pretence of this blog is that there will be a 'dinner' or a whole meal to go with the film – so throughout the week I should post a side, a main and maybe a dessert or a veggie dish? I have also been debating whether or not I should give my recipe’s theme names. It sounds fun and laughable but slightly silly and incredibly cheesy. I keep laughing when I come up with names like ‘Terrifying Tubule’ or ‘Raptor Ribs’ but a good laugh (however cheap) is never a bad thing.

For today, I’ve been trying to think of something simple that I have made often, that is delicious and that, if you do have to go to the grocery store for, it will at least be cheap. I thought a side dish was a good place to start – for some reason people always get stumped with a side dish and usually just go for potatoes or rice. I thought I’d mix it up with:

Suspenseful Sweet Potato Wedges

(Instead of your regular white potatoes, which are high in starch and carbohydrates, swap them out for sweet potatoes (a.k.a. Yams) which are a vitamin healthier – although higher in sugars – option.)

4 – 8 med. Sweet Potatoes (peeled)

2 – 3 tbs. Olive Oil

1 – 2 tbs. Lemon Juice

1 Clove of Garlic (diced)

2 tsp. (or to taste) Cayenne Pepper/ Hot Paprika/ Paprika

Salt & Pepper (to taste)

Peel your sweet potatoes, I cook for three people so I use about 6 medium sweet potatoes (2 per person, because they are so delicious), and cut them into wedges. Toss your sweet potatoes into a bowl and mix in the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and spices. Whenever I make potatoes (any kind) I toss them like a salad (with oil, vinegar and spices) in a bowl before I bake them, to make sure they are all coated. Bake the sweet potatoes at 350 for 20 – 25 minutes (longer if you are using white potatoes) in a large cake pan lined with tin foil or wax paper (to make the cleanup easier).

Alright! Let me know how it goes!

The First!

Hey All!

Right off the bat I should admit that I am a bit of a purist. I really believe in reading the book before watching the movie or at the very least knowing that there is a book from which the film is adapted. This however doesn’t necessarily mean that the book version is always better than the film version. Sometimes a movie is just damn good but sometimes it just doesn’t do a great book justice.

I also believe in cooking great, healthy, yummy and simple meals from scratch.

I hope to build three components to this blog:

1. To encourage you all to read a book with me before watching the film (for the first time or for the seventh).

2. Every Sunday watching the film adaptation for the book that we read during the week.

3. To cook a great meal or meals in the meantime.

Do you know the show Dinner and a Movie? Well I want to do something similar. Every Sunday I plan to watch the film version of the book for that week and cook a great meal to go with it. Let’s be honest Sunday, anywhere, is a slow day and a perfect for relaxing with a movie.

This is my first blog so I’m not sure how I’m going to format everything yet – but I’d like to post throughout the week how the book is going and maybe a couple of recipes with written and perhaps video instructions.

I also want to encourage you readers to post your own suggestions for materials and your comments about the books, the films and your own adaptations of the recipes I post.

I’d like to start us off with something everyone will (hopefully) be interested in and may have already read and/or watched: Jurassic Park , book by Michael Chrichton, film by Steven Spielberg. I thought since this is my start up week I would give myself (and any new readers who jump on along the way) two weeks to get a hold of the novel and read it before watching it next Sunday April 25th.

Thanks for reading!