Swimming in coconut milk ...

This past weekend I went to an excellent rock and roll wedding with about 400 of my favorite people. Still working on writing about said wedding, much like I am still working on writing about the last wedding I went to. Suffice to say, I've been to two hot shit weddings in the past two months, both which oozed with the personalities of the Mr. and Mrs.

In other news, here is what I ate, watched and read this past week.

FOODS

Foil-Roasted Beets with Wasabi Vinaigrette with Tricolor Quinoa: Chuck made this meal from The Urban Vegan: 250 Simple, Sumptuous Recipes from Street Cart Favorites to Haute Cuisine , whom I suspect has found it is a better idea to not give away the recipe for free, as I cannot find a link to this anywhere in the interworld and it is one of those things that kinda seems like something at least one player would pass along. Anyway, I'm not going to be the asshole with the law-breaking blog, so I'll spare the exact deets.

The gist: Roasted Beets, slathered in a Vinaigrette that includes Garlic, Wasabi, etc. The quinoa is made with a mix carrots, garlic and kale. This all went together really well, tasted super clean and gave me a Sugar Free Rock Star level of life enthusiasm.

I've like everything we've tried from this cookbook, so it is worth it for those who are Urban Vegan curious.

Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchilada: Well. The time has come. Chuck has upped the ante on veganism and has thrown in an added level of intrigue. Gluten Free. Zoiks. Later, pizza. It's been real. I kid. Like the vegan thing, it's not a rule, so we're cool.

Anyway, so I found this recipe which was easy and good and spicier than one might expect. I don't think it's hard, but Chuck did all the heavy lifting prep work like handling the sweet potatoes and the chilis, leaving it with all the other ingredients for me to assemble when I got home. Tag-team, bizzos.

This did teach me that I dig corn tortillas more than I thought I did. Ugly photo alert. I didn't have enough of the chili sauce. Next time.

Caribbean Curried Black-Eyed Peas with Plantains: Ya-Uh-Um. I liked this soupy mix of spiciness swimming in Coconut Milk. Not sure I would make it again with Plantains. They're always a little disappointing and I always think an exotic spider is going to hitchhike home in my shopping bag.

Chuck suggested trying it with Sweet Potatoes, which I'm totally up for trying.

MOVIES
Herb & Dorothy : This is a really adorable documentary about a modest couple from NYC who amassed a huge collection of minimalist art in the past four decades, cramming it into the nooks and crannies of their small rent-controlled apartment in Manhattan. It's really interesting and cute and there is a Bill Cunningham Where's Waldo moment. This is a good one. Streaming on Netflix.

Marwencol: This one is about a dude who got beaten up outside of a bar, suffered a major brain injury, and in his recover invented this fictitious world called Marwencol that is populated by Barbie dolls and GI Joe Action figures. It's all very elaborate and Barbie Doll Dreamhouse if the Dreamhouse was like an entire town. Then, he starts taking photos of the scenes his characters are involved in. And he likes to dress in women's clothing. And he is featured in an art show.

BOOKS
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel: This is the best graphic memoir, graphic anything I've ever read. The writing alone is five-star novel quality. 

Full review will be here.

Now Reading: I'm still working my way through The Four Fingers of Death: A Novelby Rick Moody which is like listening to a drunk uncle give a wedding toast that is unending, but witty enough that you don't exactly tune out.

I keep wanting to tell people about this really fantastic scene, but saying "Let me tell you about this part in this book," is about as interesting as saying "Let me tell you about this dream I had."