Librari[d]an

In the new Indiana Jones movie, the titular hero tells his students to “get out of the library”. A humbug on you, Dr. Jones! I looked you up in Scopus and nobody cites your work. I cross-referenced the journals you’ve published in in Ulrich’s and none of them are peer reviewed… or indexed! I’ve pulled up their impact factors in Web of Science and their scores are the pits!

Sarah Jessica Parker’s library-related advice to Sex and the City/Carrie Bradshaw devotees? It’s quite a bit more practical. Find it in this video at 2:44:

Sage words, madame; I salute you. Special thanks to Siobhan and Jeff for the heads-up.

:: Bibliography ::

Ryzik, Melena. UrbanEye: Sex and the City. New York Times. http://video.on.nytimes.com/?fr_story=1a94f19eaf6d603d17278a602a1e53103ef45184 (31 May 2008).

Finally, a recipe worthy of the title “obscene cuisine”! Who would have ever though that black beans and brownies would go well together? Spoilers: Ania Catalano (below). Leave it to those eye-talians to innovate in the kitchen as well as the bicycle shop. (One more reason I reside in Pgh’s little Italy, heh.)

Now I have a confession to make… I don’t like brownies. Whether swirled with peanut butter, made into blondies, chock-full of delicious nuts, or just plain out of a box, I have never ever enjoyed them. I think it’s because my Mom was a brownie fiend. (The same thing happened with Oreos. Mom loves ‘em, [d]an detests ‘em.) So when I came across this recipe thanks to that vixen over at 101 Cookbooks - that would be Heidi Swanson (also below) - I figured, “Why not?” It’s not like I would be horrified at the corruption of my favorite baked good.

Strange side note, is anyone else freaked out that Ania and Heidi are kinda sexy? Where are the dumpy frumpmaster cooks and bakers, like my home economics teacher Mrs. Crumb? (Not a joke. That’s really her name.)

Catalano (left) and Swanson (right). Smokin’. (Ten Speed Press, Swanson)

Back on track, I give you my variation on Signora Catalano’s “Amazing Black Bean Brownies”:

:: Almond Black Bean Brownies ::

4 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 cup butter
2 cups black beans, drained
1 cup almonds (one half chopped, one half whole)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ cup instant coffee
¼ teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1½ cups honey

1. In your microwave, melt the butter and chocolate. Use a middle-ish power level, and check several times to stir and make sure things don’t get burnt.
2. In a food processor, blend the beans, 1/2 cup chopped almonds, vanilla extract, and several spoonfuls of the chocolate/butter mixture until it’s smooth (approx 2 min).
3. In a large bowl, mix the whole almonds, remaining chocolate/butter mixture, instant coffee, and salt.
4. In yet another bowl (!) use an electric mixer to beat the eggs for about a minute. Add the honey and beat again.
5. Add the chocolate/bean mixture (from the food processor) to the chocolate/coffee. Stir to blend.
6. Now things get fancy: “Add the egg mixture, reserving about 1/2 cup. Mix well. Pour the batter into the prepared pan [cooking spray, holler!]. Using an electric mixer, beat the remaining 1/2 cup egg mixture until light and fluffy. Drizzle over the brownie batter. Use a wooden toothpick to pull the egg mixture through the batter, creating a marbled effect.” (Swanson)
7. Bake for 30 - 40 min in an oven preheated to 325 degrees F, until they are set. Let them cool, then cover and refrigerate for several hours; this firms them up. Cut before serving.

They turned out well, although they did take significantly longer than 40 min to bake in my oven. (After 50 min I bumped the heat up to 350 degrees, moved them to the top rack, and still had to leave them in there for a good while.) I have to admit that I’m not sure I’d make them again; they’re too rich, too brownie-ish, and there’s something slightly strange about the texture and taste (at least to my palate). If there’s a next time I might cut the vanilla in half and replace the other with amaretto for a bolder almond flavor. Hopefully I’ll be bringing these to the season finale of Lost tonight at Brian and Liz’s. I’m feeling a bit under the weather as of now.

Update (31 May 2008): Everyone liked them. It’s just me still not liking brownies. Disregard my negative comments.

:: Bibliography ::

• Catalano, Ania. Baking with Agave Nectar: Over 100 Recipes Using Nature’s Ultimate Sweetener. Berkeley: Celestial Arts, 2008.
• Swanson, Heidi. Amazing Black Bean Brownies Recipe. 101 Cookbooks. http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/amazing-black-bean-brownies-recipe.html (29 May 2008).
• Ten Speed Press. Ania Catalano. Ten Speed Press. http://www.tenspeed.com/authors/view.html?id=1651 (29 May 2008).

Jen and I were entranced by this shimmering pillar the other day, and I fumbled to get a good shot of it. We were amazed not only by the time and money required to craft a Stanley Cup out of aluminum foil, but also the highly public place of exhibition–Route 51.

I have to agree with Jen, “the tin-foil cup makes even more sense slightly out of focus”. According to Gary from the mail room the Pens still have a chance at the Cup, but just a slim one. They need to win 4 of the next 5 games. Bonne chance, mes amis!

The other day I was thrift shopping at one of my secret thrift stores - the kind that aren’t picked over by those of means - and discovered a plethora of American Apparel t-shirts. An absurd amount; racks and racks, in fact. I was vaguely pleased that I could buy some plain, comfy t-shirts at an affordable price. ($1.99 per shirt, which is rather steep at a thrift store, but beyond economic for AA’s wares.)

However, why would a suburban thrift store have a boatload of these shirts in pale yellow, orange, and white? To my knowledge, these are not the colors of any local school. Who would be silkscreening on them, but be able to discard so many? The quality of the batch is not in question. The colors are not offensive. This leads to the only logical explanation: American Apparel is initiating a dastardly marketing ploy using the poor as unwitting pawns!

 

One of the shirts in question, as well as an
example of American Apparel’s marketing campaign.

My evidence is hypothetical, but come now! All of AA’s “models” look inexpertly (if not poorly) groomed and quite often not exactly attractive.

So, they dump a shipment of their shirts (sized small and medium) into a non-boutique-y thrift shop and let the skinny folk that shop there snap them up. Voilà! It’s ingenious, because the type of person that will buy the shirts is almost guaranteed to match their current models: skinny, not afraid of wearing clothes that fit, predominantly white. AA is unfazed by, if not flat-out aiming for, the fact that some of the people may not be particularly concerned with comeliness or personal hygiene.

This plot ultimately feeds AA’s illusory desire to appear removed from the more stylized and affluent fashions of the middle class.

:: Bibliography ::

American Apparel. Fine Jersey Short Sleeve T-Shirt - Freeship Men - American Apparel Online Store. American Apparel. http://store.americanapparel.net/2001.html (26 May 2008).

A few of you may have received this in the mail nearly a year ago, but for everyone who wasn’t having a bad Memorial Day…

Bibliography: ???

Remember that party I mentioned a few posts ago? A bespectacled friend let me know that I was caught, in digital form, dancing with Kato-chan.

Bibliography:

• The Andy Warhol Museum. The Whole Boogie Woogie Party 5.3.08. The Andy Warhol Museum. http://flickr.com/photos/26362204@N07/2479021698/ (14 May 2008).

Some of you may remember the tomato seedlings I received from 306 Paul last summer. The little buggers were amazing! Not only did they survive my neglect, they managed to produce delicious tomatoes well into autumn. I literally could not keep up with the fruit they yielded, having to give the stuff away that I flat-out didn’t have the energy to turn into bruschetta.

So robust, I had to euthanise them in the end. They wanted to live so bad, just like Bonnie and Clyde! I have many fond memories of these plants, which can still be glimpsed in the Google Maps street view of my house. (Right)

Healthy and happy. I later plucked its fruit off and killed it with a dull kitchen knife. Giving Tree, anyone?

The only problem with these tomatoes was that I didn’t have a cage to hold them up, resulting in the splitting of one of the plants’ stem and a bit of damage to both. This year I’ve addressed this problem with two hilarious contraptions, inverted hanging planters! Just this morning, from my bedroom aerie, I overheard my neighbors pondering what exactly they are and if they’re an eyesore. (No conclusions were reached.)

So hungry for fresh tomatoes!!! Get ready, friends and nebby neighbors. Yinz will be on the receiving end of the surplus.