Girl Genius vs Games i don't suck at

It's been a snowy week. Usually, that would mean i'm cooking and reading like mad, but the evilness known as Guitar Hero has entered my home, and is sucking my time like you wouldn't believe. i finally found a video game i don't suck at. On New years I played Settlers of Catan for the first time, and won by a long shot. maybe i should rename this blog "games i don't suck at". what i really hate about guitar hero is that it's so fun, i don't want to practice my real guitar.

been making some oddly mediocre stuff lately. either rehashing old recipes, or trying new ones that aren't the best. Note to self: raw onions and carrots don't work well in a hot pasta dish, and pork is not the best chili meat.

I did have one success, and this one is so simple as to be rediculous.

Kidney Beans w/Tomatoes

olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 can diced tomatoes
1 tbsp dried cilantro
good pinch or two of hot pepper flakes
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
salt & pepper

saute onion in oil over medium heat. cook until onions are soft, but not browned. stir in tomatoes, cilantro and hot pepper flakes. simmer for about 5 minutes so it can thicken a little. stir in kidney beans and season with salt & pepper. simmer another few minutes to heat beans through. Enjoy.

The comic shop will be my doom. We lent out our Girl Genius volumes 1-3 and got it back over new years. After re-reading the entire thing (and realizing the quality of the binding was utter crap), we realized we had volumes 1,2,3,4 and six. no five? off to the comic shop to rectify the situation. all six volumes in hand, i got to reading the entire series. and realizing the binding was still utter crap. Someone should really tell the Foglio's that steampunk/gaslight wasn't designed for comedy. Agatha is the bomb and gets all the boys, the Jagermonsters are rocking my world even more, and damnit, i want to know who Agatha's father is! and it would help to know who Gilgamesh's mother is as well. Regardless of my terrible superquick summary, if you like steampunk, or you like romance, or you like comedy, check this series out. the binding might be shit, but the story is worth it. So get to writing more Phil & Kaja!! or us fans are going to start rioting in your front yard to find out what happens!!



I also looted the library right before New Years, but haven't been plowing through the books at my usual speed. damn video games eating my time.

Brian Vaughan's The Escapists is a psuedo sequel to Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, and it's a blast. Written mostly in comic book form, it takes places right now, where a young man spends his inheritance to purchase the rights to the original Escapist character. trouble, adventure, and romance ensues. The artwork is beautiful, the story line is nice, and I couldn't ask for a better homage to Michael Chabon's Amazing Adventures novel.



Walking the Dog, by Charles Davis. This is one odd book. but it's full of dry satire, one of my favorite flavors. If Kurt Vonnegut was friendlier, and had a more varied sense of humor, he and Charles Davis would be bosom brothers. because of the odd style, i think readers will either love this book or hate it.

the comicbook addiction

Not sure how long this post will be, as I have limited internet time today, and bread rising in the oven. See below for easy French cooking.

ARCs recently received:
Pandora’s Closet, a book of short stories involving the Pandora’s box mythology. I’m looking forward to the Timothy Zahn entry. The Kevin J Anderson entry, not so much.
The Clean Tech Revolution, by Ron Pernick & Clint Wilder – Pernick runs a California sustainable energy investment firm, and this is his research into the sustainable energy industries: who is doing what, and where, and where is the money coming from. Being a tree hugger has nothing to do with being altruistic. I’ve read the solar and wind power chapters. Interesting in a dry, econ kind of way. But damn, I wish I’d gotten that engineering degree. Look at all the cool jobs I could have applied for!

Book purchased recently:
Note to self: when visiting fanfare, bring $22. (two $10 books, plus tax). Leave all other cash and credit cards at home. Otherwise this is what happens:
Fullmetal Alchemist volumes 6, 7 and 8. They started creation of the anime around volume 7. Which means the manga plotline and the anime plotline don't really match anymore. Ed and Al are still finding trouble, everywhere, and have gone to spend some time with their teacher, Izumi. I love Izumi, she's one of my favorite characters. Al hooks up with some Chimera, who are cool people, but they work for Greed, who is well, greedy. Marta could have been a good friend for Al. They have a longer relationship in the anime. Greed gets to bite the big one about 20 times (hey, whose that guy in the chair??), and Al gets his creepy memory back. Who needs a stupid circle now! Some brand spankin’ new characters from Xing show up. I don’t know how I feel about these new characters. Did Arakawa feel she had to completely depart from the Anime story line? I trust her. . . wait a minute, back to Izumi. . . i think she's my favorite character, but i'm not sre. Damn you Arakawa, why do you have to make it so hard for me to have a handful of favorite characters? I love them all! I think i am now caught up with all the books that aren't quite still in print. and have you seen the cover to volume 13?? it's kinda hot.
Girl Genius, by Phil and Kaja Foglio – steampunk/gaslight action adventure mad scientist romance with armed guards who talk like they’re in a bad Dracula flick. Did you get all that? Phil Foglio ROCKS. You know, I was just expecting dirty humor and inside jokes. Nope. This baby’s got fun art, an adorable plot, and hilarious dialogue. And supposedly the narrator at the beginning is a self portrait of Phil himself?

One more goodie on the plate:
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke – I’d heard this was “Harry Potter” for grownups. More like Victor Hugo does Harry Potter. Stodgy Britons in the early 1800s argue over servants and carriages. Occasional magic is done to beat that dastardly Napoleon. I’m about ¾ through, and still waiting for some interesting conflict. Stay tuned for a full length review. It’s the least I can do for a 800 page+ novel.


Now, on to the real plate. I love my Provincial French cookbook. Everything is way easier than it looks, I’ve heard of most of the ingredients, and it’s all so damn good.

Burgundy Chicken – serves four

2 tbsp butter
4 chicken legs
3 shallots, finely chopped
1 cup white Burgundy or Chardonnay wine
1 tsp thyme
salt & pepper
8oz seedless green grapes, cut in half
¼ cup half n half
some parsley (garnish)

before starting, make sure all the chicken will fit in the pan. If you use chicken that has some skin on it, which I recommend, you’ll have some shrinkage.

melt butter in heavy skillet. Add chicken, and cook till browned all over (they don’t need to cook through). Remove chicken to a plate. Add shallots and cook till soft. Return chicken to pan, add wine, thyme, salt, pepper. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer, covered, for about 45 minutes. The chicken should be tender and nearly falling off the bone. Remove the chicken to a plate. Add the grapes to the sauce, and boil the sauce till it thickens slightly. add the half and half, and simmer for a few minutes, stirring. Pour sauce over the Chicken, garnish with fresh parsley, and enjoy!

Excellent with garlic roasted potatoes, Gratin Savoyard, and crusty french bread to soak up all that divine sauce!