Orange chicken and The Business of Being Born

We've tried a number of new recipes since I last posted... I don't know where to start! I guess we'll start with orange chicken. I'm a huge fan of Panda Express' orange chicken, but Panda Express no longer exists anywhere near us anymore, so I thought that I would try making my own. The recipe really does get pretty close and is pretty good. It will definitely hold me over until we get to a place where Panda Expresses exist!!

As for the movie, we didn't watch this movie while we tried this recipe, but we can pretend, right? =)

The Business of Being Born - hmmm... I was really excited to see it. It's a documentary about the way that we give birth. It's produced by Ricki Lake and is very pro-natural birth and pro-midwife. The topic is one in which I'm very interested and I thought that this movie would be right up my alley. I told Adam numerous times that he really didn't have to watch it with me if he didn't want to, but he said he was game and so we watched it. I had been concerned about the graphic nature of it all, but that part was actually handled pretty tastefully. (Having said that, I still wouldn't watch the movie on a first date or anything like that...). However, I was still rather disappointed with the movie. It did a lot of handwaving when talking about specific problems in the doctor-driven birth system today and hard numbers were rarely given to support most of the statements made. I was left wondering if the picture that was presented was really accurate and I questioned some of the over-arching statements that were made. Still, it's probably worth watching if you're interested in the labor process... but I wouldn't expect to be won over by it's convincing arguments. Anyway, ratings (out of 5) follow below.

Orange Chicken
Prep Time: 40 Minutes
Cook Time: 40 Minutes
Ready In: 3 Hours 20 Minutes
Yields: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:
Sauce:
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons orange juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

Chicken:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil

DIRECTIONS:
1. Pour 1 1/2 cups water, orange juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce into a saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Stir in the orange zest, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, chopped onion, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and cool 10 to 15 minutes.

2. Place the chicken pieces into a resealable plastic bag. When contents of saucepan have cooled, pour 1 cup of sauce into bag. Reserve the remaining sauce. Seal the bag, and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

3. In another resealable plastic bag, mix the flour, salt, and pepper. Add the marinated chicken pieces, seal the bag, and shake to coat.

4. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place chicken into the skillet, and brown on both sides. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels, and cover with aluminum foil.

5. Wipe out the skillet, and add the sauce. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Mix together the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water; stir into the sauce. Reduce heat to medium low, add the chicken pieces, and simmer, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Ratings:
Movie - Adam **1/2, Melanie **1/2
Chicken - Adam ***1/2, Melanie ****
Note: The chicken is very orange-y. I think that next time I would reduce the orange juice and zest by half. I think doing that would make this recipe a solid **** for Adam.

21

Adam and I found a movie theater with a cry room. This is super exciting. It's also an old theater that only shows one movie per weekend. This is cool too - it's like you walk back in time when you walk through the doors.

Anyway, we went to this theater to see the movie 21. Adam had read the book on which the movie was based and the plot sounded interesting. The story is centered around a few MIT students who decide to take on Vegas Blackjack with an elaborate card counting scheme.

According to Adam, the book and the movie really diverged in places. In order to fit in Hollywood, the movie had to be a little flashier than the reality in the book. However, the movie - taken simply as a movie - was pretty good. There was a bit of suspense and for the most part, I found myself really rooting for the main character. The whole scheme sets up an interesting mind game... the group didn't do anything illegal (well, they didn't set out to, at least), but yet they were constantly looking over their shoulders hoping not to get caught - knowing that if they did, they were probably in more trouble than they would have been had the whole thing actually been illegal. Though we, as movie-goers, all sat there, knowing that the end of the story couldn't simply be that the students all walked away with a lot of money... it was still interesting to watch the plot unfold.

Adam sat beside me, knowing the card count as the numbers flashed across the screen during almost the whole movie, which was pretty impressive. Watching this movie with him, it became apparent that gambling simply comes down to a numbers game - and because of that, it can actually be pretty boring (I mean, I knew that all along... but he really hit that fact home). Take out the glitz and glamour of the casino and it's more boring still (though of course, it's amazing to watch Adam's mind work - and I was blown away by the things that he remembered and knew).

Anyway, the bottom line is that gambling - once you know what the characters in the movie knew - is pretty dull. But there's more to the movie than that. And because of that, I'd say that it's worth a rent.

27 Dresses

Addy and I went to see 27 Dresses this week at the Mom and Baby movie (we have to take advantage of these last few weeks to do that!) and unfortunately I don't have much of a review. It was a fun movie. Definitely worth watching at a Girls Night In... but not anything huge beyond that. It's would fall into Adam's "fine but forgettable" category. Catherine Heigel - the main character - has 'always been the bridesmaid'. She has 27 bridesmaid dresses from 27 weddings. This becomes her claim to fame and she struggles with the unwanted attention from that as her sister falls in love with and starts planning a wedding to Heigel's secret crush. It's a bit predictable, but cute and I left with a smile on my face. However next year at this time, I don't think that I'll remember much about it at all. "Oh yeah - that was that movie with Izzie from Grey's Anatomy, right?" =)

Random reviews

I/we have watched quite a few movies since last time I posted. I guess that’s what happens when you stop posting… These will be kind of ‘drive-by’ reviews, but they’re for old movies (by now), so that’s probably appropriate. =)

I Am Legend – Wow. That’s all I can say. Not really because this was a wonderful and amazing movie, but because it really got to me. Plot synopsis in one sentence – Will Smith is the only human alive in NYC and is fighting against and trying to cure zombies that have taken over the world. What really got to me though was the hopelessness and desolate nature of the environment. I still think about that every once in a while. Can you imagine being the only person in NYC as it slowly crumbles? Anyway, I’d rate this movie *** (out of 5) – definitely worth watching, but not worth going out of your way.

National Treasure: Book of Secrets – I love the historical aspect of these (this one and the original National Treasure movie) movies. The first one was better but this one was worth seeing too. The only issue that I had was that it seemed to be tied together at the end rather quickly and sloppily (I have to say though, that I saw this with an excited and babbling Addy at the Mommy movies, so I may well have missed a couple lines of important dialogue that make the ending not all that sloppy). *** (out of 5) – fun, escapist flick – don’t think too hard or you’ll catch some plot holes though.

Juno – This film shows the teenage pregnancy in a different light than most movies do. It was a good movie overall, though I’m a little curious what I missed with it receiving all of the Oscar hype. The mother gets to know her baby’s prospective adoptive parents and learns a little about love and life along the way. The movie ends much in the same place that it started… I know that really doesn’t make sense, since a baby has been born, but if you see it, I think that you’ll know what I mean. ***1/2 (out of 5) – but not really Oscar worthy in my mind! =)

License to Wed – We rented this movie over the weekend. I had heard that it was pretty good if you don’t mind Robin Williams. That was wrong! It was really a bad movie. A good relationship is tested to the max when Robin Williams decides to do some creative religious pre-marital counseling. It involves a weird Choir Boy, a wire tap, a baseball to the nose and driving while blindfolded. I like Mandy Moore and John Krasinski a lot – but not because of movies like this one. * (out of 5) - don’t waste your time!!

Enchanted – Adam, Addy and I went to see this over Thanksgiving while we were in Long Beach. What fun! Addy chirped along with the chipmunks at the beginning (and a fellow movie goer told us at the end how much fun that was) and thoroughly enjoyed what she saw of this movie (and so did her parents!). It was definitely geared toward a young female audience, but there really was something for everyone. **** (out of 5) – I’m excited for this one on video!

Dan in Real Life **** (out of 5)

Addy and I went to the Mom and Baby showing of Dan in Real Life last week. (As an aside, if I haven’t mentioned before – this Parent/Baby showing is just an awesome event for the theaters to put on. It only works until Addy is one, so I (and Adam sometimes too) am (are) going to take advantage of it while I (we) can!). (As an even further aside, there really should be a better way to use the singular and plural for situations like that!).

Alright – enough of that. So, Dan in Real Life. Though I had seen Steve Carell on The Daily Show and in Bruce Almighty, I have to say that I never really noticed him until I saw The Office. Well, of course I noticed him, I just didn’t take note of him – if that makes any sense.

So, anyway, we started watching The Office a couple years ago and I quickly became a Steve Carrell fan. I just can’t not watch him – in that way that people just can’t not watch things that they shouldn’t want to watch. But we’ve seen him other places too – and it’s in those places that I’ve become a fan. He seems like such a genuinely nice person. That personality shows throughout Dan as well. He seems like a nice guy struggling to keep it together for his daughters after the death of his wife.

The plot synopsis is pretty simple: meeting the rest of his family for an annual reunion, Dan becomes the center of the family’s pity, all the while secretly desiring his brother’s girlfriend – his brother’s ‘the one’.

The characters are flawed in areas but well meaning and they offer a ‘home’ in the middle of nowhere. Marie – the love interest (Juliette Binoche) is a fine actress, but her character does not seem to understand that she can’t be interested in both brothers at once – which is frustrating to viewers who can see what her actions do to Dan (Carell). However, I think that her actions are probably normal in the real world – it’s just that they are hard to watch when vested in more than just her point of view. It’s frustrating, but it’s not completely damaging to the movie.

Other than that, the movie provides humor and several touching moments. It is not a movie for the ages, but it is a good story. I think it’s worth the time, and both Addy and I left the theater with smiles on our faces.

Feast of Love **** (out of 5)

Addy and I went to see Feast of Love at the Thursday Moms’ showing this week. It has some old favorites (Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear, Selma Blair, Missi Pyle) and several newcomers too.

The movie follows several couples through 18 months in their lives – through beginnings of love, endings of love, and the good the bad and the ugly of love. The couples’ lives intertwine and are all held together by the fatherly advice handed down by Freeman’s character.

Freeman is, of course, good in this movie (when isn’t he good?) and Kinnear plays the loveable and affable doof that he also plays in so many of his roles. He, like most of the other characters, is simply trying to find a place in this crazy world.

Selma Blair was almost forgotten (though she still played an integral part in the movie – just more in spirit than in character). Missi Pyle didn’t get enough screen time which is sad because she’s funny just by being. But then again, it really wasn’t that type of a movie.

The movie didn't really end – I was left with the feeling that life just continued for the characters after the credits started to roll. But that was fitting. I wasn’t upset that I didn’t get my resolution tied up with a bow as I am with some movies that just fade to black.

The show was rather explicit (that R rating allows more than it used to), and I thought it was unnecessarily so. Maybe I’m just getting stodgy in my old age though.

All in all, it was a pretty good movie, but I think that it is probably going to be pretty forgettable. I don’t know that I left with more than “love like it’s the last day of your life”. It’s good advice, no doubt, but I think that the movie was going for more than that… or trying to say it more poignantly at least. Still, it was a pretty good chick flick and a fun way to spend a couple hours. (I should mention that Addy slept on me for about an hour of it – which would have made any movie good, but I don’t think that swayed my opinion here – too much at least). =)

The Office - Season Premiere ** (out of 5)

The one premiere that I was really looking forward to watching this season was The Office (it premiered on Thursday). I often think that the writers lie awake at night thinking up material. However, I think they fell asleep this time instead.

The show was long and not very funny – it revolved around a Rabies ‘Run for the Cure’ and was often disjointed and drawn out.

The relationship between Michael (the odd and often inappropriate character) and his once supervisor has become strained and just plain weird. It was actually uncomfortable to watch.

The fact that Ryan was working at corporate and out of the action was disappointing, as he often adds humor to situations just by being around. I hope that his post at the headquarters is short-lived.

Oh and Andy's bloody and chafed nipples were just plain gross. And that was his entire contribution to this show.

The only good part about the episode was the fact that Jim and Pam admitted that they are dating at last. Here’s hoping that the writers decide that it’s ok to keep them together and forego the thought that tension makes for better television.

It wasn’t enough to keep me from watching the next show... but I'm hopeful that the funny from previous seasons returns soon.

Because I Said So ***1/2 (out of 5)

I’m talking about the movie not the blog (though the blog is pretty funny – I highly recommend that you check it out). Anyway – on to the movie.

It’s about the dynamic between mothers and daughters. This movie shows what happens when a well-intentioned mom (Diane Keaton) meddles just a bit too much in her youngest daughter’s (Mandy Moore) love life. Mom places an online personal ad for daughter (without daughter’s knowledge) with hopes of finding Mr. Right for daughter (from mom’s perspective of course). Complications arise when daughter starts dating two men – the one that mom picked and one that mom most certainly would not have picked.

About one third of the way into the movie, I had rather high hopes, but the movie did start to slide downhill a bit as the end approached. It just seemed to end rather abruptly. The primary plot of the movie became secondary to a minor storyline and I was left wanting a little more resolution than was provided.

All-in-all though, it was a fun movie and a good chic flick. I loved the dynamic between Mom and daughter (and the other two daughters/sisters that I have neglected to mention here as well).

I watched this movie while Adam was out of town, and I’m positive that was the right time to watch it. I think that he would have lumped it into his “They Came to Talk” category of movies that he doesn’t particularly care for. =) I’d guess that most guys would feel the same way about the movie as well. But, if you’re looking for a movie night in with the girls, I’d say to give it a go.

Mythbusters **** (out of 5)

Adam and I love to watch Mythbusters on the Discovery Channel. I think that we’ve seen every episode ever aired. The basic premise: the Mythbusting team takes age old adages or myths and ‘puts them to the test’ to see if they really are true. We’ve seen the Mythbusters challenge quite a few myths – from questioning if it really is possible to teach old dogs new tricks to examining if rolling stones really gather no moss. They’ve tested quite a few conventional (and even some rather unconventional) myths.

According to their website, they have aired 82 shows (though I believe that that number may be a little outdated). The early shows feature only Jamie and Adam and are, I think, a little more interesting than the later shows, for they test some of the more common myths – ones that (my) Adam and I have actually heard of. Plus in the early shows, it was fun to watch conservative and careful Jamie and erratic and crazy Adam interact with each other. In later episodes, it appears that they have rubbed off on one another, making their personalities a little less distinct and taming down the interaction between the two.

The Mythbusters team has grown since the first shows and and now includes Grant, Kari and Tory. While they are all fun to watch, I don’t think that the show would have survived without super-smart Grant who always knows how to build the exact thing that is needed. (Grant is by far the best Mythbuster on the team!).

In general, I really enjoy the show, though lately, I think that they may be stretching for material. They plug their website a ton (asking for new myths to bust) and the number of commercials per episode has steadily increased. It also appears that the myths that are being busted are more and more dangerous (well beyond the schadenfreude of Adam vacuuming his face or burning his eyebrow off or Tory trying to clear a way-too-high jump on his bike) and more and more scary stunts are taking place inside the converted warehouse/shop that the show occupies. We recently saw a show that included rather careless actions (exploding cannons in the shop!) which made me happy that I wasn’t the Mother of any on the team!!

I have learned some things from the show and I like the fact that they revisit myths when the viewers think that the team didn’t fully address the myth at hand. I think that the show may have unavoidably become a little more commercialized than ideal, but I guess that is the way that these things go.

Overall, I’d say it’s worth Tivoing (that way the commercials don’t waste your time!) – and best of all, probably provides something for most viewers.

Scary movies

I don't really have a movie review for the week... we rented several and while they were alright, they weren't really anything to 'write home about'. Ha! =) I've posted my star ratings (out of 5) and brief synopses of some of them below. All of these movies are scary movies - though I must say they scared me in different ways.

Rosemary's Baby **
I had never seen this before, but I have quite an issue with the ending of this movie - it poses quite the conundrum I think. Unconditional love vs. evil. I don't like the ending at all. Who comes up with these ideas?

Keeping Mum **
This is a British 'comedy' (at least I guess that's probably how it would be categorized). It has big names - Rowan Atkinson, Maggie Smith and Patrick Swayze. It's definitely odd. It can only be said that this movie is 'light-hearted' because it's not real.

The Ice Storm *
So I'm not sure how it happened, but a friend and I rented this movie in high school. It has a star heavy cast (though I don't know how many of them were stars in the late 1990s) - Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Joan Allen, Toby Maguire, Elijah Wood, Christina Ricci, Katie Holmes... I remember that I just didn't get the movie back then. That coupled with the fact that didn't remember much of it made me want to watch it again now to see if I missed something the first time. Turns out that I didn't miss anything - this is a horrible movie. It's very dark - along the lines of American Beauty and depressing and awful. I don't know what we were thinking when we rented it 10 years ago... or two days ago.

Here's hoping for a better (and lighter) group of movies this week!

Stardust ***1/2 (out of *****)

Adam was very excited about this movie (especially since it was made from one of his favorite books), so we went to see it opening day. I didn’t know much about the plot before going to see it but Adam told me to expect it to be a cross between The Princess Bride and The Neverending Story. That’s a good way to explain the feel of it. It’s a fantastic world – with magic and curses and clearly delineated good and evil.

Movies about the fantastic are really hit or miss with me. I go in hoping to be ‘wowed’, but often times I leave disappointed. Adam knows that, but I think that he knew that the storyline would get me on this one. After the movie, he actually said that he felt me go from ‘semi-interested’ to ‘actually-interested’ halfway through the movie. He was right – down to the very scene. It’s the scene where the storyline takes over the movie. I don’t know if that makes sense, but I think that you’ll understand if you see the movie.

Claire Danes was great – she reminded me a lot of Kate Winslet (one of my favorites!) and was not at all angsty (as Adam had feared). Charlie Cox was a good pick for shopboy/explorer, but was more believable as an explorer than a shopboy (which is alright since the movie is really about his exploration). And Robert DeNiro was amusing in a very unusual role for him. The cast was large and, overall, provided some good laughs along the way.

Adam felt the movie stayed as true to the book as possible without confusing the viewer, though he felt that the movie was a bit scattered at times. I have to say I didn’t feel that, but then that may be because I haven’t read the book.

So, I liked the movie. There were some heavier scenes and some unsavory bits, but overall, it didn’t take itself too seriously and it provided a fairytale like feeling for the most part. It was an enjoyable movie that provided several laughs and even some warm fuzzies.

The Bourne Ultimatum **** (out of *****)

I loved The Bourne Identity. It may be my favorite action flick (though The Italian Job is up there too). I was really disappointed by The Bourne Supremacy. The relationship that I loved so much between Jason and Marie was ended 15 minutes into the movie… and needlessly so. The movie left me wanting to keep Jason and Marie at the little seaside scooter rental shop (with the burn bag flower pot) that was the end of Identity.

Even with all that being said, I was very excited to see The Bourne Ultimatum. Watching Jason Bourne work within the system to fight the system is still fun – and Ultimatum provided a lot of that. The film’s first sequence – between Bourne and the reporter – provided the audience with a glimpse of the amazing training that Bourne had received and also again revealed Bourne’s incredible intelligence. He was always one step ahead and that was exciting to watch.

The movie continued without much of a plot and of course included much mayhem along the way. Julia Stiles gave her best performance of the trilogy (though I love Julia Stiles, that’s not saying a lot). But still, it’s nice to go out with the best. The action part of the movie was great – fantastic explosions and even some Crouching Tiger fight scenes. Of course Jason Bourne is invincible throughout all.

By the end of the movie, Jason has remembered everything – more than he wanted to, but the memories provided closure for him that he couldn’t have achieved otherwise. Treadstone is evil and Bourne finally escapes once and for all (well for now I guess. There’s still a little wiggle room left for another movie…). However I choose to believe that the series is over.

All in all, Ultimatum was a very good action movie and it was leaps and bounds above Supremacy. It was still nowhere close to Identity. But it’s definitely a fun ride – just don’t expect too much plot along the way!

The Simpsons Movie *** ½ (out of *****)

We went to see The Simpsons Movie yesterday at the parent/baby screening. Because I had seen a couple scenes (and laughed out loud at them!), I was looking forward to seeing the whole movie. I should probably insert the disclaimer here - I’m not a huge Simpsons fan. Don’t get me wrong, I like the show just fine… it’s just really not ‘have to see TV’ for me.

So anyway, off we went to see the movie. The basic plot: Homer, through his crazy shenanigans, dooms Springfield to quarantine and then annihilation. The family finds their way out of quarantine and moves to Alaska in order to ‘start over’, but soon after hearing that Springfield and all of its residents will be destroyed, go back (sans Homer) to save the town. Homer, with the help of a truth-seer, goes back to try and fix the problem he created, but ends up dooming the town just as it seems like the residents of Springfield are about to save themselves. However, with only seconds to spare, Homer manages another town-saving attempt and is successful. And they all live happily ever after... or at least as happily ever after as the Simpsons can live. Don’t worry – knowing the ending to the story doesn’t ruin anything. Truly, the plot is not the reason to see this movie. =)

There were good moments and I laughed out loud at more than the couple spots that I knew about. It was entertaining for its 86 minutes and I’m glad that we went to see it.

I was excited to see the movie. But yet I still had no real expectations for it. And I think that was good.

So, yay for Homer and the gang. I’m glad that they pulled it out and saved Springfield, Wherever (which is now, we know, obviously not in Alaska).

Pirate Master * (out of *****)

Adam and I have been watching Pirate Master on CBS. The premise: a group of (reality show) pirates sailing the seas in search of treasure. It had the possibilities of being the next Survivor… up until about halfway through the second episode. The first few episodes were ok, but I’d been watching the last few simply to see the ending.

The rules were ever changing (in some places the participants on the show even seemed to be following different rules than the host explained to the viewers) and the ousting ceremonies appeared to be green screened. The editing was misleading, with cast interviews from later episodes being spliced into earlier episodes and vice versa. Further the cast members – at times more creepy (John) and strange (Azmyth) than the typical reality show contestants – were a little too over-the-top for comfortable viewing.

It appears that the show has been ‘cancelled’ – leaving the final episodes to play out on the web only. What’s sad about it is that the show could have been good. Adam and I have talked about some variations that we think would have made the show more interesting and more thought provoking (armchair producers that we are)… but in the end, it ultimately was a confusing and contrived debacle on the high seas.

Insert your ‘walk the plank’ joke here.

Ratatouille **** (out of *****)

As a huge fan of Pixar movies, I was excited to see Ratatouille. So, we loaded up Addy in the Ergo with thoughts that she would sleep throughout the movie. We sat on the aisle and I was poised and ready to leave if she started to whimper. There are many movies that we would not chance taking a potentially fussy Addy to, but because this was a kids’ movie, we felt a little more comfortable taking Addy along.

Whether it was my little trepidation that she sensed or just the fact that being a kid means that schedules are rarely set in stone, Addy was a little fussy throughout the movie. I left twice to feed her, but each time, I was able to pop back into the story with no problem. Of course, this ability should be expected from this type of a movie, but it seemed that maybe it was a little too easy. The pacing felt a little off and somewhat drawn out in places.

However, it was still fun. Seeing a kitchen full of rat chefs was a little disconcerting (and of course more than a little silly as well). Of course in the end, everything worked out for the best and the theater goers left with smiles on their faces too.

I still maintain that Monsters, Inc. is the best Pixar movie out there, so it’s probably not fair to compare every Pixar movie made to that one, but I do. So, it was no Monsters, Inc. But it was still definitely worth the trip and time. Also, from what we could tell, Addy, often smiling and watching the screen, really seemed to enjoy the animation too!