Movie Monday – Volunteers, Django Unchained

We stumbled across an old 80′s movie last week that we had never seen. Volunteers stars Tom Hanks and John Candy. The story is set in the 60′s and centers around a spoiled rich kid (Hanks) who runs from a gambling debt, which his father refuses to pay off for him, by joining a group of Peace Corps volunteers. He and two other volunteers are given the project of overseeing the design and construction of a bridge in a small village in Southeast Asia. Hanks is colossally unequipped to do anything himself, much less contribute to manual labor. But through the course of the story he is forced to change his ways, somewhat. To make matters worse, the bridge becomes a key asset to numerous conflicting organizations, including the CIA, a local drug lord, and a local communist force. The three young volunteers must work together to save the village and their own skins. All in all, it wasn’t terrible. Not a blockbuster by any means, but it was fun and silly and very 80′s.

I know I’m far behind the times, just now seeing Django Unchained. Don watched it at work weeks ago so I’ve been stuck waiting for an opportunity to watch it alone one day when he was on duty. It fabulously well done. It’s one of those movies that it’s difficult to say is good because the subject content is so deplorable. Yet, Tarantino’s style is so tongue-in-cheek. It’s obvious that many scenes are not meant to be taken entirely at face value or as seriously as they might be delivered. Still, it’s hard not to take them seriously. It’s hard to laugh out loud at something that is sick or horrifying, even if it’s an obvious jab at a stereotype. If you are like me and haven’t seen this movie yet, I recommend you do. It’s masterfully crafted and well worth the time.

It’s not what a movie is about, it’s how it is about it.
~ Roger Ebert

Related articles

• Django Unchained Reviewed (newyorker.com)
• Django Unchained Review (honest2gawd.wordpress.com)
• Django Unchained (themovietroupe.wordpress.com)
• Django Unchained Review (guardian.co.uk)

Reading Corner – The Well of Ascension

Outstanding second installment of the Mistborn series. I could hardly put it down. There’s just not much I can say about the book. It’s too complex to give you a well rounded, yet brief plot summary. Suffice to say, it’s a massive story of good vs evil, played out by a wide range of well developed characters, filled with battles, strategy, idealism, philosophy, intrigue, and magic. I enjoyed it immensely and recommend the series to any fantasy lover who hasn’t picked it up yet. Can’t wait to read book three, but going to take a break and read something else in-between, just to mix things up a bit.

A man can only stumble for so long before he either falls or stands up straight.
~ Brandon Sanderson, The Well of Ascension

Related articles

• Book Review – The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson (wizardstower.co.uk)
• The Well of Ascension (hannahrose42.wordpress.com)

Spicy Seafood Balls

Don came up with this spontaneous concoction last weekend. When you see the list of ingredients, some of you will think, “what??” But appearances can be deceiving; these balls were deliciously delightful.

This was one day that I was busy with other projects while Don was cooking so I didn’t get a full report of the process. The best I can do is provide you with the list of ingredients and hope that it sparks a creative interest. You’ll have to fill in the blanks and go with your instincts on measurements; I’ve also linked a few other similar recipes below that include specific quantities if needed.

Ingredients

• about 5 oz of ground turkey
• 5 oz can of salmon
• handful of small shrimp
• 2 eggs
• celery, finely chopped
• sweet onion, finely chopped
• chili garlic paste (or garlic for those non-spicy folks)
• shredded coconut
• coconut flour
• fish fry

Don pulsed the shrimp in the food processor to reduce it to a more mixable texture and then mixed the turkey, salmon, and shrimp together. Sort of like starting out chicken salad or tuna fish mix. Then he added the eggs, celery, sweet onion, garlic, shredded coconut, and coconut flour. He made balls a bit bigger than golf balls, rolled them in fish fry, and fried them in lard until browned, and then for a few extra minutes just to be sure the seafood was thoroughly cooked.

We topped them with a little homemade cocktail sauce – ketchup and horseradish. YUM!

We made 6 balls and froze the rest for another day.

Prior to the seafood ball invention, Don had experimented with canned salmon and turkey to make burgers and they were outstanding. So if you don’t like frying, here’s an alternative meal that you can make from the above ingredients.

A cookbook must have recipes, but it shouldn’t be a blueprint. It should be inspirational; it should be a guide.
~ Thomas Keller

Related articles

• Paleo Seafood Balls (health-bent.com)
• Tuna Fish Patties (thehealthyfoodie.com)
• Cajun Seafood Balls (foodnetwork.com)
• Crunchy Shrimp Balls (vietworldkitchen.com)