Ocopa and Patrick 1.5

Hello, hello!
I was watching Glee last night and I realized... well, after very recently watching Willow and Tara on Buffy, I feel so much less excited about what we're given on television in terms of queer lady couples. How is it possible that ten years later it feels like we're actually getting less?
ANYWAYS....

You know when you press record and then you actually didn't record and then you click to stop recording, but then you're actually recording? The point is... I didn't purposely cut Syd out of things.

Recipe 

My mom always sends me Peruvian things to eat and cook with. I recently had all this Huacatay paste and I didn't really know what to do with it... until I realized that's what you use to make Ocopa*! 

So... this was kind of experimental, but I think it came out pretty good!

Ingredients: 

Note that I am not very good at following recipes to the exact amounts. The following is roughly how we did it based on what I felt was right... and it'll probably change the next time I do it. 

You can click this link for more accuracy: I liked this website best

Huacatay Paste - full jar (the jar is about 7oz)

Aji Amarillo - a few tsps depending on how spicy you like things

Saltine crackers - 3 or 4

Peanuts - 1/4 of a cup

Potatoes - 3 or 4

Red Onion - 1/2

Garlic - 2 or 3 cloves

Vegetable oil 

Queso Fresco or Cottage Cheese - 2/3 cup

(the actual recipe calls for queso fresco, but cottage cheese can be used as a cheaper alternative) 

Evaporated milk - 1/2 cup or more

Salt

Eggs - one per person

Lettuce - a few leaves to garnish the plate

In a big pot, boil your potatoes. This should take about 30 - 40 minutes. You can add the eggs at about the 25 minute mark. You know the potatoes are ready when you can easily poke a fork through them.

While this is happening you can chop and sauté your onion. Add the garlic, huacatay and aji amarillo. Stir these all together and let it all cool. Don't let things get crispy.

Separately, combine chopped peanuts, crumbled crackers and cheese in a bowl. 

Put all of these things in a blender. Gradually add the evaporated milk to reach your desired creaminess. 

Once the potatoes and eggs are done, carefully rinse and peel them (they will be hot!) Cut the potatoes in half the long way and place them on your lettuce garnished plate. Pour your sauce (that's what you've got in the blender) onto the potatoes. Slice the eggs in half and place them on top of your creation. You can also add olives on top if you like that sort of thing.

Enjoy!

-Lore

*Ocopa is a traditional Peruvian dish from Arequipa. Huacatay is an herb found in Peru and other countries in that region of South America. You can get it in its herb form or in a paste which is also referred to as Black Mint Paste. 

Patrik 1.5 (2008)
Directed by Ella Lemhagen
Trailer

As if adopting a child for a gay family wasn't an ordeal enough, when Sven and Göran finally complete their process it turns out that the cute month and a half year-old they were hoping for is actually a surly, homophobic 15 year old. Their ideal family takes a hit in more ways than one as this new stress turns out to be more than they can handle.

I initially expect this movie to be much more of a comedy, although now that I think about it there is nothing funny about homophobia so maybe I am glad it didn't actually go that way. Instead we see Patrik, the teenager, as sort of a voice for the entire town's subtle misgivings about a gay couple. From Göran's awkward work confrontations (he is a doctor) to neighbors' rude comments, it is clear that it would take more than a baby to make the new couple fit in.

It is also a story about Patrik learning to fit in. As he gradually grows to appreciate people and see them as people he relates to and that relate to him he becomes someone a family actually wants to adopt. For how all this finally plays out you will have to watch the movie yourself, but I will say that it ends well (and certainly has comedic moments).

Out of a cup-
Overall Rating:
Lore:  ½ cup 
Syd: ½ cup

Queer Rating:
Lore: 6/8 cup
Syd: 6/8 cup

See you next week! -Syd

Chicken Enchiladas and Fucking Åmål

Hello Internet! 
Did you know that I am actually blonde? It's true, as a kid I had super blonde, super straight, long hair—every SoCal girls' dream right? I was too busy being weird to really use my attracting powers though. That is until I switched high schools and chopped it off and dyed it and became a person my mother warned me about. Nothing like realizing you're queer to switch things up, amiright? Worked out ok for Eilin and Agnes anyway. 

Er, but yeah, so I've been thinking about trying to go back to blonde to at least see it and I thought I could expedite the process by trying that "color out" stuff or whatever. Well it took all the color out of the sides but left the longer top slightly orange. These things happen. Sorry I fidget with it so much in the video, I needed a haircut.   -Syd

For the record - I LOVE syd's blond hair, it is so fricken cute.
Recipe! You will need: Chicken Broccoli (we liked adding a veggie, you don't have to) Corn Tortillas Enchilada sauce (you can make it from scratch too, but we're going for quick and easy for your date ;)  Cheese Hot sauce Vegetable Oil SOUR CREAM - don't forget the sour cream.
Cook the chicken and broccoli as the oven preheats (at about 400). Once they are done, you can shred the chicken, chop up the broccoli and combine them. Mix in some enchilada sauce.
Dip the tortillas into your bowl of still remaining sauce and fry them on a little bit of oil one by one.  Spread them out on the bottom of a casserole dish, fill in the middle with the chicken, and then add a top layer of tortilla. I like to do it this way, instead of rolling up individual tortillas, but to each his own.
Pour the rest of the sauce on top and sprinkle on lots of cheese. Put the dish in the oven for about ten minutes. Once it's done don't forget to add some hot sauce and sour cream to balance out the meal. Enjoy!
Fucking Amal / Show me Love (1998) Directed by Lucas Moodysson Trailer In the small town of Amal, Sweden, Agnes has just turned 16. She is very timid and basically a social outcast. Her parents decide to throw her a birthday party (with invitations and everything) even though she doesn't have any friends. Oh, and she is in love with Elin.
Elin is very popular, beautiful and rebellious. She likes to go to raves and make out with boys. She is also always talking about how terribly bored she is with everything. There seems to be something missing in her life. In one of her bouts of boredom, Elin drags her sister, Jessica, to go to Agnes' birthday party instead of their friend's house party. That night and the next few days will give you lots of feelings. Not all good, but not all bad. Elin realizes what it is she's been missing, as well as how hard it is to have it, and Agnes wishes she didn't have to wait so long for things to get better. 
This movie does a great job of showing genuine teenage angst, as well as the struggle for kids to fit in with their peers but also into their own selves. I also enjoyed that the characters were played by actors who are actually that age and not by 25 year olds. (Sidenote: it is not all angst, there are some pretty funny parts.)
Queer Rating: 5 enchiladas out of 10 for both of us.
General Rating: 6/10 enchiladas.
Also, one of my favorite scenes is at the very end when Elin and Agnes have a really cute and awesome conversation about chocolate milk. It's so true!  See y'all next week! -Lore