Attack of the Clones

We saw it. There were elements of it that were visually impressive - some good fight scenes and chase scenes - but overall I thought it was dire. I was laughing at lines I'm pretty sure George Lucas wanted me to be moved by.

Nothing I say about the movie could possibly match this stunning summation elsewhere:

Yes, the visuals are ravishing--although even there my suspension of disbelief broke down at times, for Lucas's technological world is so incoherent that the CGI is less the equivalent of a roller-coaster ride than being rolled downhill in a barrel full of Occam's Best.

But the dialogue! I feel like I've been beaten on the head with a Stupid Stick for 2-1/2 hours. It is an amazing accomplishment, as though the script were created by an act of spontaneous generation, without the intervention of a writer.

But we will watch it again. Deborah figured out how to enjoy it: pretend it's opera. We know the plot, have it linked to the visuals and the wonderful music of John Williams. Next time we'll pop it in the DVD player and select a language we don't understand. Deborah wants Swedish. I'd like German so I can catch a word or phrase here and there.

Then we'll be able to enjoy the myth without distraction.

Experimental menu corner.

It's been a while since I've posted a recipe to my LiveJournal, so...

Tonight I made turkey mole, Now, mole sauce is something I've never made before, and in fact I'd only ever eaten it once, but we had a package of turkey breast cutlets and some baker's chocolate and a cookbook, and they all came together quite nicely. Here's the recipe as I made it, which is not quite as the cookbook suggested.

In a blender, mix one can of tomatoes, a handful of chopped onion, two large cloves of garlic, an ounce of chopped baker's chocolate, an ounce of raisins, a tablespoon of sesame seeds, and some seasonings: cumin, chili powder, coriander, cinnamon, and allspice. (I would've used cloves if I had them, to keep the C spice theme going, but allspice was as close as I could get.) Blend them briefly.

Cut about a pound of turkey breast cutlets into bite-sized pieces and brown them lightly in oil. Add the mole sauce. If it looks too thick or tastes too intense, thin it with some chicken or turkey broth. Bring to a boil and then simmer, covered, for about an hour.

I served it over rice, with sweet corn on the side. Ideally, I would serve it with dirty rice and black beans, but I hadn't planned to make this tonight so I was limited to what happened to be in the cupboard. All in all, it turned out pretty well - a little bitter, so maybe next time I'll add about a half-spoonful of sugar. Also, for some reason the raisins escaped pulverization in the blender, and were still whole in the final dish. Next time I'd chop them first, or blend the sauce longer, or something.

Anyway: not bad for an experiment. curiousangel and I both cleaned our plates with enthusiasm.