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

Mini Cherry Pie and (original) D.E.B.S.

So it's another busy week—my first week of classes and I am volunteering with Outfest (woo!), and Lorena has the GRE—so we're going to go with another condensed post. Lucky for me actually, since with no video you don't get to see how I awkwardly dyed the side of my face when I re-did my hair. 

I couldn't decide on a simple recipe to share so instead I am going to link you to Fresh Cherry Hand Pies as explained by Dessert for Two. That whole site is probably relevant to your dinner-date interests since we don't do desserts but a thoughtful something-sweet can definitely improve your score for the evening. (or even help you score. Hah, ok let's agree to forget that I said that.)

Well hopefully you're doing productive things with your week too. Next week we will try to do our boozy guest post for reals, until then (and always), stay gold!

-Syd

"Why don't you want me to meet your friends... Are you ashamed of me?"
Before becoming one of my favorite lesbian oriented movies of all time, D.E.B.S was a delightful 10 minute short. DEBS are an elite group of female super spies/crime fighters. Their arch nemesis, Lucy in the Sky, is constantly kidnapping a particular squad's leader, Amy. We come to find that the two have a much more complicated relationship than that of everyday villain and hero...
You can watch DEBS the short film by clicking here
(The feature film is also hilarious and easily found on the internets)

Cool things to note:
Tammy Lynn Michaels. 
Jill Ritchie, the wonderful actress who plays Janet, is kept on for the feature length version.
Both the short (2003) and the feature film (2004) were written and directed by Angela Robinson (The L Word, GirlTrash!)
Jordana Brewster (Fast and the Furious) plays Lucy in the feature.

The characters are wonderfully written, the plot is absolutely silly/amazing, and if you don't love it... then I don't want to be your friend.

-Lorena

Horchata and I Don't Want To Go Back Alone

So Lorena has no off days this week and things are generally a little busy, so this is sort of Dinner Date 4.5—we're not doing a vlog and it's a short and a drink recipe instead. But both are great so I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

When I left Bogotá there was a hole in my heart that I had normally filled with delicious fresh juices. Forced to move on from lulo and maracuyá, I latched on to the rice drink horchata. Hoping to curb my addiction's cost I decided to try making it, and it's easy! Witness:

Soak 2 cups of rice overnight in 3 cups of water with a cinnamon stick. (if you only have ground cinnamon, just throw some in later) 
The next day, throw it all in a blender for maybe 2-3 min. until smooth. 
Strain through something pretty fine, depending how you feel about chunks.
Add 3 cups of water, ⅓ cup of sugar (or to taste), and ½ tbs of vanilla.
Enjoy over ice or stick it in the fridge for later! (it will separate, don't worry, just shake before serving.)

There are many many variations I'm sure the internet can tell you all about if you want. Some people add almond milk instead of the later cups of water, or you can soak almonds with the rice in the beginning. The original horchata is from Spain and is made with chufa nuts, and several Latin American countries have some sort of variation to this Mexican version. It is delicious and refreshing, and pairs particularly well with spicy food. And rum. It keeps for about 5 days I'd say.

So now that you've got that…steeping?…it's time for the short. It's Brazilian and it's called "I Don't Want To Go Back Alone" (Eu Não Quero Voltar Sozinho) More young love, and not made any easier by the protagonist being blind. Super cute, give it a watch: 



Syd: Such a great idea, so well done. I like all the muted colors. Having Leonardo be blind is an interesting way of exploring attraction. Yes we can be drawn to looks, but in the end you need that chemistry, and that's what being queer is kind of about! Just going for what you want. All he knows about his friends is how they sound and interact, and (to Giovana's dismay) he naturally gravitates to Gabriel. Full disclosure: I totally see why the kids make fun of his typewriter, that would drive me crazy.


Lore: I had to work a lot this week. I apologize. 
This is an adorable short movie. My mom was sad for Leonardo because he's blind AND gay. She's right, it is unfortunate for him in our straight, seeing world, but the movie never seemed to expect us to pity or feel bad for the kid, which I really appreciated. It's nice to see real people portrayed in real situations that we all go through. Also, I love how stealthy Gabriel is.


Thanks for hanging out, and hopefully we'll see you next week. Until then, do you have any queer shorts you want to share? Post them in the comments and it'll be like a mini film festival!