Transformers 3 Warms My Heart

**Spoiler Alert** I will be talking about the plot and the ending of the movie, for those of you who want to kept in "suspense" as to how this movie ends (as if it's not fairly obvious), don't read on.

When I first saw the teaser trailer for Transformers: Dark of the Moon, I got the same goosebumps that I felt while watching the other two movies. There is something about the voice of Optimus Prime that always gets me. I should preface with the fact that as a child, I was a huge fan of the Transformers series and definitely owned Transformers the Movie on Betamax. I'm sure I also had some of those Autobot toys, but Optimus, of course, was my favorite. I think that is why, in these Transformer films, that hearing the voice of Peter Cullen (who has voiced Optimus then and now) and the same "transforming sound effects" from the series makes me grin like a little girl.

Therefore, I must admit that my enjoyment of these movies is probably (by "probably" I mean definitely) biased from my childhood love of the series.

However, I feel that anyone who sees this movie falls under one of these three categories: 1) They, like me, loved this series from their youth, 2) They somehow were dragged to the first two movies by a dork like me, and now are also hooked, or 3) They have little kids that love these movies and will grow up to be dorks like me.

For anyone out there still debating as to whether or not to see the new Transformers, I will highlight its best attributes. If you've already seen the first two movies and enjoyed those, I will tell you right now, it's in the same style and I'm sure you will love this one too.

This installment of Transformers starts similarly to the first two movies, explaining something important to the Autobots that we've never heard of before, showing were they are now with the gov't, and then flashing to Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBoeuf) and where he is in his life. Basically, Sam is out there trying to get a big boy job in the real world and is depressed that his valiant efforts in saving the world in the past mean nothing because he can't share them. He is joined by his hot new girlfriend, played by Rosie Huntington-Whiteley after Michael Bay fired Megan Fox, and some tiny Autobot pals that live with them in D.C. Long story short, Sam's rejoins the Autobots to save the world once more because the Decipticons are back with a new weapon. Same idea as before, different movie, but the important thing is how they executed it.

Sentinal Prime!

There are some great new actors in this one, Frances McDormand, Patrick Dempsey, John Malkovich, and (my favorite) Leonard Nimoy as the voice of Sentinel Prime! They even show a clip of Spock in Star Trek for those of us dorky enough to notice it. Of course some of the familiar human characters are back as well: the Witwicky parents, John Tuturro as the eccentric Simmons, and the hot military men played by Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson. There are also some new Autobots, which always includes a couple comic relief bots that I think they throw in to make the kids laugh, and of course new Decepticons, battling over the similar concept of Freedom that the Autobots always fight for. This makes for a perfect July 4th movie, and I'm sure the July 1st opening timed it for that reason.

Decepticons attacking Chicago. So much action it pops out of my blog!

There are some great fight scenes throughout the film, with the culmination taking place in Chicago this time. The special effects are spectacular in this movie, and the last battle in Chicago was beautifully executed. Yes, this movie is 2 1/2 hours long, but the action sequences combined with the humor-filled plot and dialogue makes it go by quickly and keeps you entertained. I know a lot had to be explained, but they kept the story from being overwhelmed by keeping those scenes short. In a filled theater during opening weekend, there were quite a few times where the audience broke out into applause, moved in particular with the Autobots and their clear concept of right and wrong. No matter how the humans treat them (it always seems like our government gives them the shaft at some point) they still fight for us, and win.

In the current situations we face as a nation-the wars we are in, struggles with the economy, and huge political turbulence from opposing parties-it is this type of film that we need the most: an action film that suspends reality and keeps you rooting for the Good Guys that defend us. We need to laugh at the silly humor the characters employ, and applaud when the Autobots go on the attack. This movie warms my heart, not just because of my childhood memories, but how it makes those around me feel excited and proud that the Autobots would fight to defend and protect the human race, at all costs.

"You may lose faith in us, but never in yourselves." -Optimus Prime

5 Meals from a Roast Chicken

This is rapidly turning into a food blog, which is not my intention, but it's my favorite thing so I will probably write about it most often. I spend most of my time thinking about what I will be eating for my next meal. So, it comes with great pride that I was able to make multiple different meals from one rotisserie chicken from Publix.

I work in the evenings, often late, and I find it hard to cook most of the time. Therefore, I make quick lunches or easy late night dinners. I have also been seeking ways to increase the vegetables and lean protein in my diet, so when I went to Publix last week (see previous post), I finally decided to try one of their Mojo Whole Rotisserie Chickens.

This is not my chicken, just a reenactment found on this website.

Meal #1: The Roast Chicken
I got back from Publix about 10pm that night and still hadn't eaten dinner. The chicken that caught my attention was still warm and fresh so I ate the drumsticks and a wing with a salad and some pita chips. A filling meal, and since the chicken was already done, I only had to throw together the salad which only took me a few minutes. Simple, easy and delicious. But, what to do with the rest of my chicken?

Meal #2: Salad with Chicken Breast
The next day, I had to make a quick lunch before work, so I sliced off one of the chicken breasts-skin removed-and tore it into tiny pieces on top of organic spring greans. That, with a bit of shredded cheddar, Publix fresh croutons, and Annie's creamy Cowgirl Ranch Dressing (a favorite natural dressing of mine), was a delightful lunch. The protein from the chicken breast and cheese filled me up for the day, and the ranch dressing was creamy and really added flavor to the meal.

Meal #3: Chicken and Swiss Panini
This was my first venture into the world of the home-made panini style sandwich. I had some time on my hands and really craved a restaurant style sandwich. I will admit, I have become quite a sandwich junkie for lunch, and I've collected numerous toppings, breads, and cheeses to really make it interesting. I decided to use the other chicken breast and sliced it down the middle so that it would be thinner. Fresh-baked Publix 5 Grain Italian bread was my base, on top I spread honey dijon mustard, then placed swiss cheese on each slice (to really make it melty and delicious). Finally, a couple sliced dill pickels and the skinless chicken breast and I was good to go!

I got the pan ready and lightly buttered the both sides of the outer bread on the sandwich in order to make it crispy. I threw it in the pan and all seemed good. Once one side got crispy, I flipped it, but then I noticed something: the sandwich was still thick and awkward, not the awesome, flattened versions that I usually see with cheese melted all over the place. I was lacking one of those sandwich squishing machines, so I went for my homemade option of a plate. I placed a plate over the top of the sandwich then squished it down by placing weight over it and voila, a flat panini sandwich was all mine!

Not the best picture, but you get the idea.

This was a huge success! Definitely not a totally "healthy" option with all the cheese and the butter, but not at all bad. A rich hot sandwich that makes lunch at home just a little more interesting.

Meal #4: Chicken Salad Sandwich
I didn't have all the ingredients for an elaborate chicken salad (grapes, celery etc) and I had limited amounts of time, but I wanted to try to use the rest of the meat the chicken could give me. I shredded the last bits of the chicken meat, and yes I had to get pretty familiar with my chickeny friend in order to do so, but the results were enough for a full sandwich.

As I said my other ingredients were few, so I basically used Mayo and a little White Wine Dijon Mustard as my base with some salt, pepper and garlic. Next is my flavor enhancing secret: Penzeys Garden Salad Seasoning!

Penzeys is a spice shop that I found in Winter Park, a fabulous old town near downtown Orlando that has tons of shops and restaurants with a strong resemblance to Santa Cruz, but more on that later. This store had wall-to wall spices, but the seasoning mixes are my favorites because they add flavor to everything. This one primarily consists of dried Romano cheese, poppy seeds, sesame, onion and chives. It gave my quick chicken salad sandwich just the kick it needed!

After a few minutes to chill everything together in the refrigerator -I feel it helps the chicken absorb the mayo a bit but I am probably full of shit- I placed it on my favorite multi-grain bread, topped it with some lettuce, and had a nice, light-tasting sandwich for lunch. Very refreshing.

Meal #5: TBD
I saved what was left of my ever-giving chicken in a plastic bag in the freezer. I can use it for a soup base or stew to really add richness and flavor to whatever I decide to create.

So, as you can see, I really got more than my money's worth. One $6 made 4 filling meals, and someday will be the base of one more. This is great for affordable meals with many options that require little time to prepare. Hope this inspired you to pick up one of your own and give it a try!

My Hatred of Exercise and Love of Ice Cream

(Note: This was supposed to be posted last night but had some difficulty)

I wish that I loved working out. I wish I was one of those people that wakes up with the rising of the sun and jogs for six miles before a full day of work. I swear to myself as I pass these people in my car when I have to be up at the ungodly hour of 7am because they woke up specifically to exercise, and therefore, they are better than me. Every few months or so, I convince myself that I can be one of the elite fitness buffs, so I set my alarm early and lay out my gym clothes. My semi-conscious self, however, feels differently and somehow I wake up having hit my snooze button for over an hour. 

Today, I had to take a friend to the airport very early, so I convinced myself that I will go for a morning walk and even believed that I would enjoy it. At 8am, the last remnants of cool air are quickly dissipating as the suns slowly creeps up to full force. I walk around two of our 10,000 lake/swamps, trying not to squish what appears to be the Great Migration of Centipedes brought on by last night's rain. By 9am, I've given up all hope in not completely sweating through my clothes as the humidity wraps me up like an awkwardly damp towel after a shower.  I finally call it quits about 9:30, proud that I was able to be consistently outside for that length of time and dying to take a cold shower. The walk wasn't a total loss however: I saw 2 alligators, 20 turtles, a river otter, and a collection of weird as hell swampy birds that I couldn't identify again in a line-up.

So what's a Florida girl to do? I've tried the gym route, and I just don't seem to go. I love biking and walks but during these summer months I'd rather hang out in a steam room because at least there I'd probably sweat less. I'm continuing to creep on the pounds the longer I live here and I'm still searching for the best way to work it off. **Update: I just got the Zumba game for Wii, I will keep you posted on my successes/failures.**

After working so hard this morning of course I felt I deserved a reward. Today, I got Kilwin's ice cream, not once, but twice! I must first explain that ice cream is one of my top three food weakness (Big Cheeze-Its and popcorn are the other two), but it is especially hard for me because I am lactose intolerant. My supreme love of all things dairy combined with my inability to properly digest it results in some very interesting evenings, so it's a good thing I don't have a roommate. Kilwin's ice cream is definitely worth the sacrifice.

Kilwin's Website

From their website I learned that Kilwin's first started in Michigan in 1947, but now can be found all over the country, and there are a large number of locations throughout Florida. I have always considered Marianne's in Santa Cruz, with homemade ice creams of over 75 unique flavors, to be the absolute best ice cream I have ever had, but Kilwins is definitely my second favorite.

Their shop is reminiscent of old time soda shops and candy stores, with fudge and fresh candies in the displays that draw any newcomer's eye. They have very high standards of quality and everything that I have tried there has been fresh and amazing. The rich, gourmet ice cream and homemade waffle cones are definitely the top selling-point of this store, in my opinion.

I've spent hours staring at these Bear Claws in their display.

I was dragged to Kilwin's in Celebration forcibly by two separate friends on two separate occasions, imagine the odds! Well, of course when I was forced into their shop, a shining beacon of yesteryear with the scent of fresh waffle cones beckoning future victims to also become addicts to their ice cream. The first visit I got two of my favorite flavors: Toasted Coconut and Celebration Mud. Toasted Coconut has a coconut base with bits of toasted coconut pieces, while Celebration Mud is (vanilla?) with chocolate shavings and a swirl of caramel. Yum! Very rich and delightful.

Well, a slight stomach ache and a lactose-induced nap later, another friend suggested we get ice cream. I had to force myself to eat dinner first (damn mothers and their dinner first lectures!) before I rushed over for round two. My second stop was Cinnamon Crumb Cake and Butter Pecan in a fresh waffle cone. The former is Cinnamon ice cream with crumb cake pieces while the latter has big chunks of pecan. This combination rials a Sommelier's wine choice with a meal, if I do say so myself.

I finished the evening in a rocking chair in front of Celebration's lake, admiring a baby alligator on the prowl for dinner. The weather was cool again after a long afternoon of rain, which made the out-of-doors actually tolerable.

A day started with exercise and ending with ice cream is definitely a good day!

Rainy Days and Tom Ka Gai

I left work today in a downpour, but luckily the rain eased up once I got home. Occasionally during the summer, we have rainy days which provide a respite from the thick humidity combined with scorching heat that make summers in Florida almost unbearable. Normally, it will rain like clockwork at 3pm, but only for twenty minutes. Then, the sun peaks out again to remind us pitiful Floridians that it is still in charge. This is a complete opposite from summers growing up in Sacramento, CA, where it didn't rain for months and droughts were common in the dry Sahara-like temperatures.

My Aloe plant was craving a good rain!

It stayed a balmy 73 degrees through the evening with continual rain and cloud cover, which prompted me to wear a light sweater when walking outside. Layers of clothing are rarely seen on Floridians outside a movie theater, but we have no tolerance for chill. Any time the temp gets in the seventies or lower, we wrap ourselves up like the kid in A Christmas Story.

So, even though I just filled my fridge with goodies yesterday (see last post), the "cold" rainy weather prompted me to want soup to-go, but just not any soup; I craved my oh so favorite Tom Ka Gai soup from Thai Thani.

I first discovered Thai food while living in Santa Cruz, CA, and it remains one of my top favorite foods. Whenever I have Thai food, I always feel like I'm rewarding my taste buds with a guessing game of what alien flavors are incorporated into each dish. For those of you who haven't tried Thai, I highly recommend it. Just don't be afraid to order some weird-sounding things, and word to the wise, don't ask for spicy if you don't mean it! I love Thai food so much I even went to Thailand just to get more of it. Tom Ka Gai is one of my favorites, and if you like coconut, this soup is for you!

Tom Ka Gai, sometimes called just Tom Ka, is a soup of few ingredients, but full of flavor. Typically prepared with chicken, mushrooms, galangal (a Thai ginger), lemon grass and lime juice in coconut milk, this soup has a simple warmth to it that makes it a good start to any Thai meal. The chicken is lean, and the coconut broth is light, but the galangal and lemongrass are what really make this exotic. Don't be alarmed if you see a pieces of these in your soup or a leaf or two, which I have heard is common in Thai cuisine. These are not typically edible, but I like to chew on the fibrous galangal for added flavor.

 My vat of Tom Ka Gai. Agreed it's fairly beige in color but its coconut flavor is unbeatable!

A large Tom Ka Gai can easily be a meal in itself, but I chose to compliment it with a Summer Rolls appetizer. These are not fried rolls, and are made with a thin rice pancake (so thin you can see through), that surrounds shrimp, rice noodles, bean sprouts, carrots and basil and comes with a delicious concentrated soy bean sauce. They have a very unique flavor and texture, but have a good light feeling to them while still filling you up.

All in all this was an excellent and interesting take out meal. The soup warmed me up while the summer rolls were a cool and tasty compliment. So glad I found such great Thai food at Thai Thani!

Redeeming Quality of FL #1: Publix

I returned from my two week trip to Santa Cruz, CA and Seattle a week ago (I'll cover that later) to a fridge empty but for the case of beer. Well, one can only survive on beer for so long so I finally made the trip to my "neighborhood" grocery store: Publix. To be honest, I had been dreading this trip, not only due to the lack of bicep strength required to carry those groceries upstairs, but also because I was afraid I had become spoiled by the beautiful Natural Food shops and the Oh So Incredible Trader Joe's that is one of the things I miss the most about home. Santa Cruz is filled with market's like New Leaf, that specializes in local and organic produce and goods. Their aisles are filled with exotic cheeses and olive bars and their produce displays resemble a sculpture garden of California's rainbow of fresh fruits and vegetables.

I walked into Publix ready to scoff at their pitiful offerings and return to write about how much better California stores will always be, when something happened: I started to see snippets of things I remembered from home. Product after product, though I had been to this store a hundred times before, I kept discovering my favorite foods, or at least acceptable substitutes.

Here's the "Natural Foods Section." Though it's only one aisle, it still has many of my favorite foods! Note the all "natural" Cheetos.

Santa Cruz! My home! I almost cried when i saw this!

Despite the fact that the vegetables are wrapped more securely than Christmas presents and are from exotic places like Chile and Belize, they have a good selection of fruits. I left Publix $100 poorer, but much much happier that I found so many things I love to eat. A small selection:

Included in these prize offerings are Cage Free eggs, 3 for $1 Kiwis (OMG!), sliced Papaya, organic lettuce and produce, a rotisserie chicken, fresh baked goods, amazing Spinach Nuggets, and of course, the most amazing Barefoot Sauvignon Blanc!

Half a rotisserie chicken, fresh salad with bakery croutons and (which may be apparent in this post) three glasses of wine later, I found myself writing this success story. My purchases at Publix made me believe that I can continue to live in Florida just a little bit longer, that I still have hope stores like Publix will keep carrying my favorite things and adding more, that maybe we'll keep getting produce that's up there with my lofty standards. I have adjusted to life here, but no matter how good Publix is, there is something about my organic, local, produce-filled markets from back home that will always be Dinstinctly Californian.

Strawberries from my old home Watsonville, CA and blueberries from my new one Winter Haven, FL.

New to this World

I am in unfamiliar territory. Yes, I have strong knowledge of technology and unfortunately can consider myself part of this generation of technologically dependent individuals.  My MacBook sits in my lap like a lightweight yet incredibly intelligent white cat that holds my constant attention, my iPhone has become permanently affixed to my right hand, and I honestly search for a calculator when I have to do challenging equations like 56+89. I type as fast as I think and I find myself staying up later each looking up useless information on Wikipedia that (dammit!) has interesting but again useless links on each page.

I get all that technology crap, but this blogging thing is something entirely new to me. Sure I've read a few accidentally and wondered why someone would actually do it, and now I finally join the ranks. I guess I'm tired of only ranting to myself or the nearest lamp post. Now I must post my thoughts publicly where everyone (or quite possible no one) will see them. Even if only the Google Overlords ever read this, I can't say I didn't put it out there.

Now on to what may be my topic I suppose? Here's the thing, I love food, but didn't want to make this another food blog, I love travel and wine and music and movies and all the same shit that everyone else likes. I have a sarcastic and cynical style which also has been covered. The more research I did into this "blogging" thing the more I felt like that episode of South Park where that kid kept shouting "Simpsons did it!" at Butters.

Alas, it's all been done before. But I do not despair. I have decided that I do not seek to get followers or even be all that interesting. I am just doing this to do it. That having been said I picked a topic that is never far from my mind and my heart: California.

I am a born and raised California girl living in Florida. I have been here 2 1/2 years now and it has been a continual challenge. You know how everyone says Californians are snobs because they think where they come from is better? Well, I have to admit I was (and probably still am) one of them. It was quite an adjustment moving here with the different produce, high tourism, lack of recycling programs, and that thick sloppy humidity that hits licks you like a dog's tongue the second you step outside. But there's some funny positives too: the Southern charminess people exude, fried okra, fried pickles, fried green tomatoes, fried . . .  you name it! That moss that slowly kills all trees but looks freaking cool while doing it.

In conclusion to this rather long introduction, I have decided to just talk about whatever the hell I feel like, but it most likely will relate to how different my beloved home state is from my current one, and what makes it, and me, Distinctly Californian.