Well-Adjusted Queer Kids

So, this is not exactly a real update, I apologize if I got your hopes up. Then again, I don't, because this is just as awesome. 

So another one of my friends, Audrey, and I recently started a tumblr where we will put queer-related things we make. It's called Well-Adjusted Queer Kids because we are hoping to flesh out the queer narratives one often encounters that are usually depressed gay people or gay people as comic relief, when really queer people are pretty much just people (but cooler. jk. maybe). Anyway, check us out!

We will hopefully return to out regular programming in the not-too-distant future. -S

Sweet Potato Gnocchi and Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Surprise hiatus! But we're back! Since we're already on a roll with being timely, it should come as no surprise that only recently have Lorena and I watched Buffy. Ok so Lorena plowed through it all, I am actually just on season 4. I have a low TV tolerance. Anyway, I was surprised at how easy it is to make gnocchi. I guess I assumed it's deliciousness must have more secrets? Well, it doesn't.


Sorry it's a little longer than usual.... we had a lot to say. There was a TON I cut out. Syd will discuss in text.   I'll keep this part short. Here is the recipe:

Sweet Potato Gnocci

Okay, this is really easy.
Cook a Sweet Potato/Yam in an oven until it is soft.
Mash it up
SLOWLY add one cup of flour per sweet potato/yam and kneed into a dough. Add more flour if the dough is still sticky.
Roll the dough into thin little snakes and cut them up into little gnocci shapes.
Boil water and add gnocchi.
Cook. Strain.
Add sauce of your liking.

(I think you could season the dough if you felt so inclined. Maybe add some rosemary or something.)

Buffy The Vampire Slayer (Seasons 1-3)

Created by Joss Whedon (Firefly, Toy Story, Dr. Horrible)

Season 1 Trailer

Where to begin. Ok, "In every generation there is a Chosen One. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer." Enter Buffy, an attractive young California high schooler who's always got a snappy comeback ready, whether it be for the school bully or a lumbering vampire. Sunnydale High happens to be situated on top of a hell mouth—an opening into hell, duh—so Buffy and her friends are plenty occupied with not only the usual highschool drama, but also the various creatures attracted to the hell mouth or trying to come out of it. 

So think your usual cast of enjoyable characters, plus supernatural hijinx! It's a surprisingly thoughtful show at times, moral issues are not black and white and sometimes things don't get a satisfying resolution. Regardless of vampires, it is no ideal other world the show is set in—popular kids and sports rule the school, parents are absent or divorced, college is impending but not a given—it is very relatable. Also, it's way 90s, heh. Also also, we think it's kind of queer. Despite what seems like the obvious setup of the hot  female superhero trope, Buffy is no shallow object, and she will not have you patronizing her. Being a Slayer was not her choice, but being femme is. Also there are actual lesbian happenings but not till season 4, but you should know it is still worth watching to get to that point. 

General Rating:
Lore: 10/10  loves it.

Syd: 8/10

Queer Rating:
Lore: 6/10
Syd: 5/10

Have a good week! Also, for those of you who have seen it, Giles is my favorite.

Unspoken (short) and Poached Egg (tips)

Helloooo!!
So, Syd went out of town somewhere*... which means no vlog or normal length movie/review this week.
What I am offering instead is this short film called "Unspoken" that I found on Autostraddle.
This film is exciting because Troian Bellisario plays a teen lesbian. You might know this actress from a little show on ABC Family called Pretty Little Liars. I love PLL. I also love all of the actresses on it.
I don't love this short, but I enjoyed seeing Spencer loving on a girl non-platonically.
See for yourself:

                                   Unspoken. 2006. Directed and written by Fie-Fie Wang.

As for this week's recipe, I will actually be giving you tips on how to make a poached egg.
I don't really know why people make/eat poached eggs, I personally prefer any of the other types, but I enjoy being able to say that I can do it. This is how:
1. Crack the egg into a little bowl first, not directly into the water.
2. Bring the water to a level of heat that is just below a simmer. DO NOT boil it.
3. Pour a little bit of white vinegar into the water (they say this helps keep the egg together and cook and what not ... I don't know if that's all true, but I do it because it never fails me.)
4. Once your water is at a temperature just below simmering, gently TIP the egg into the water.
5. Use a spoon to nudge your egg together before putting a lid on the pot and letting it do its thing.
6. Wait like 3 minutes or so.
7. Scoop it out with a spoon or ladle ... season ... yum.

If you're still having difficulties, you can come over and I can demonstrate for you. I have this thing with eggs. I like to make them. There are so many different ways...
-Lorena

*By "somewhere" she means Maine, where my sister is getting married! Also all this discussion of eggs only makes me thing of one thing- "HOW YOU LIKE YOUR EGGS GIRL?" Sorry. -Syd

Drinks and Bound, With a Guest!

This week we are bringing in our good friend Audrey! She is a pretty cool person/poet, as you can see for yourself at her blog: audreykuo.wordpress.com. She also has discerning alcohol taste, so I thought instead of making food we'd mix some drinks—impress your date by doing more than showing you know how to use a waiter's key!

This video is a little longer than the others, but I challenge you to edit three alcohol-fueled and digression-prone people down to five minutes and keep any fun and cohesiveness.

The drinks:

Dark and Stormy

1 shot rum (of the darker variety)

6 oz. ginger beer (Ginger ale is ok, but less gingery.)

dash of lime juice

serve over ice

There are fancy detailed recipes out there, but this quick-and-dirty method is plenty satisfying. 

Off-label penicillin:
2 oz whiskey or scotch
1.5 oz honey-ginger syrup
1.5 oz lemon juice

(Penicillins are typically topped off with Laphroig. If you’re on a budget, generic-brand meds should cure what ails you just as well.)

Make the honey-ginger syrup before you want to drink. Mix one part honey with less than one part water. Boil with sliced fresh ginger, and let it cool in some kind of jar-like apparatus. For the drink: put those things together. Shake with ice. Decant. Imbibe.

Title: Bound (1996)

Written and Directed by: Lana and Andy Wachowski

Trailer

Hi! So I’m not Syd or Lorena, and I also made a drink, not dinner, but I hope that doesn’t make you less inclined to read my recap. I feel like I should post a disclaimer that I am anti-spoiler, and I feel bad about including any details in here. Maybe you should pause here and go watch the film, and then we can discuss it together. I'll wait here.

Ready? "Bound" is about two ladies. Corky, "a tough female ex con," is butch-esque, in that she has tats and fixes things. We open with Corky riding in an elevator. Violet, who we read as feminine, in that she is wearing lady clothes and sleeps with dudes, is also in the elevator. Violet elevator eyes Corky, then decides to seduce her. 

Corky fixes some things in the apartment next door to Violet. Violet seduces Corky by bringing by a cup of coffee and saying mad flirty things. When she decides that’s too subtle, she drops an earring down her sink to lure Corky over and tell her, "Hey, I'm seducing you."

Sexy time ensues. Turns out, Violet is only with her mob boyfriend Caesar because that’s how she makes her money. She's into ladies. She thinks Corky should help her steal $2 million from the mob. Violence ensues. 

OK, that's enough plot. "Bound" is cinematically beautiful; there are some fantastic scenes contrasting patches of vivid color against a relatively grayscale everything else. There’s some excellent acting bits, even though most of the dudes are a bunch of stereotypical mob characters. 

I think the most interesting part of the conversation Syd, Lorena, and I had, though, was about whether "Bound" is a queer movie. There isn’t a ton of dialogue around what the relationship means, or consideration of what their place is within society. On the one hand, you miss out on typically lesbian movie dialogue, but I enjoy that the couple is actually queer (as opposed to one lesbian + straight girl with crush).  Also, during sexy time, there’s an extended shot of Violet topping Corky, and I love that subversion of expectations, that the film queers the idea of butch/femme and the viewer’s expectation that Corky will do the seducing and give pleasure. I actually enjoy that the film isn’t about coming out or dealing with lesbian couple as lesbian couple -- they just get to be characters caught up in an action film who happen to be queer, instead of having to be characters placed in the film as queer. 

All that said, though, I think my major critique of “Bound” is that Violet and Corky both feel underdeveloped, and you don’t get a strong sense of why their relationship works, other than the sexy time. It feels like we get rushed into all of the action and suspense, at the expense of richer character development.

Overall Rating:
Lorena & Audrey: 7 out of 10 shots.
Syd: 6.5 shots

Queer Rating:
Audrey: 7* shots
Lorena: 8 shots
Syd: 5 shots

Hope you'll enjoy or have enjoyed this classic. How queer do you think it is? Does Violet's voice sound like a higher-pitched version of Batman to you? Make your opinion known in the comments!

Causa Rellena and The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love

Hi, it's date four! So, I guess you like us, huh? Oh, good... that means I can geek out right? 

I love Glee, and I saw some interesting similarities with this week's movie. Since I didn't have room for it on the vlog and I'm not doing the review this week I will count those things here: #1 Gay prom dates #2 hand holding at the restaurant #3 "What, you're not graduating!? Why didn't you tell me!? ... "Well yeah, what did you think, I'm failing?!" 

It's funny how we're still dealing with these things, huh!? Especially that pesky gf not graduating thing...

Causa Rellena:
What you need (serving size 3-5 people):

- Potatoes (you can cheat like I do and just buy a box of mashed potato flakes... if so, you want to make sure that the end-product is very thick and moldable. If it's sticking to your hands/too watery, add more flakes! Use your hands to mold together)

- Mayonnaise- be prepared to use about half a jar (we use Vegannaise because we're fancy) 

- Aji Amarillo/Peruano (if you can't find this... try harder... if you still can't find it, that's fine, just don't call it Causa to any known Peruvians, they will judge you.)

- 1/2 an Onion

- Olive Oil

- 1-2 limes

- Salt and Pepper

- Parsley (for garnishing purposes)

- Mom (to call in case you have any questions regarding spanish vocab)

- Filling (this can consist of chicken, tuna, veggies, avocado, or anything else your little queer heart desires)

I would start with boiling the chicken or preparing any of the aforementioned fillings. While this is happening you can start preparing the potato. If you're mashing actual potatoes... I can't help you. If you cheated and bought the flakes (wee!) it's really easy to get the right consistency. Boil a tiny bit of water first. Slowly add flakes and stir with a wooden spoon. Continue adding flakes or water depending on what you potatoes look like. As mentioned before, you want the end-product to be moldable (like play-doh) and not stick to your hands or be too creamy.

Once those things are done you can put the filling into a bowl and get it ready to go. You will be adding mayo/vego (a lot of this), salt, pepper, lime, aji amarillo, and maybe some olive oil and onions if you feel so inclined. To the potatoes you will add all of the above minus the mayo and onions for now. Many Peruvians have a specific amount of ingredient that they find vital to the dish. I myself find it more important to do what feels right to you and your guests. Taste as you go!

Next, you should have decided if you're doing individual bowls or one big casserole. I usually do a casserole, but individual bowls are nice too. Coat the bottom and sides of the container with the perfectly mixed potatoes. Add the filling. Cover with one last layer of potato. It should remind you a little of a shepherd's pie. Add mayo to the top. Make it look pretty like frosting.

Crumble up that parsley and sprinkle it on top as a garnish. Do this with a bit of pepper as well.  Now make a "sauce" that is purely minced onions, olive oil, and more lime and put that all over the top too. Some people like to add an olive or half a hard boiled egg. It looks nice.

Sauce:
About half an onion, olive oil , salt and pepper, and lime.
It's yum.

I think that's it. Enjoy/Disfruten, amigos!

Con cariño, Lorena.

Syd: Can I just add that this beguilingly simple dish is delicious? I used to ask Lorena to make it for all my dinner parties. Seriously, you wan't in on this.

The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love (1995)

Written and Directed by Maria Maggenti

Trailer (couldn't find it) Full Movie

Disregard the ridiculous promotional image, this movie is great. The school super dyke (Laurel Holloman, a.k.a. Tina) falls in love with a wealthy popular girl, people don't support it, they get together anyway. 

So a simple story, really more about teenage love and pushing boundaries than anything else, but well done and super cute. Randy and Evie are sort of from opposite words—opera vs. classic rock, all A student vs. failing student, single parent household vs. lesbian extended family—but they both end up sharing a love of Whitman's Leaves of Grass and that's what matters. So many great scenes but I don't want to give them away.


I don't even know what else to say, it's cute and silly and why are you even still reading this go watch it.

Queer Rating:
Syd: 7/8ths of a bowl of causa. It's obviously very about two girls, but there really isn't that much drama about it…I don't know, whatever.
Lore: Full bowl

Overall Rating:
Syd: 3/4s of a bowl
Lore: 5/6th of a bowl

As a side note, I was looking through what searches lead to our page and saw:

Guys, we're not gonna duke it out. Also, urls go in the address bar, just fyi. See you next week you wonderful people!  -Syd