'tis the season for all things spooky, scary and pumpkin-related, so in this special halloween-themed edition of television dinner, we'll cover a little bit of both: the first episode of amc's the walking dead and a recipe for something we thought might be a trick, but ended up being a treat, thai lime-pumpkin soup.
this week, our friend lil c joined us for the festivities, which included shoe judging, ingredient guessing and pure naked fear.
THE DINNER
the eats:
- thai lime-pumpkin soup with
- fresh french bread and
- alouette cheese spread
beverage of choice: shipyard pumpkin head ale. not as awesome as pumpking, not as gross as punkin by dogfishead. i'm thinking we need to have a pumpkin ale fest and rate them -- what do you think?
dessert: pillsbury pre-cut sugar cookies with pumpkins on them. so grown up and classy, i know.
how to:
ingredients
1 container of fabulous thai coconut curry broth by College Inn
1 small can (15 ounces?) of pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling!)
1 small can of white beans (drained)
3 large carrots, peeled and chopped into discs 1/2" thick
4 handfuls of baby spinach
1 cup of unsweetened almond milk
1 baguette
alouette garlic and herb spread
optional:
1 container of mushrooms
2 tBsp butter
spice it up! (to taste):
curry powder
ground black pepper
garlic powder
directions
1. In a large stock pot, over medium heat, add broth, pumpkin, beans, and carrots.
2. Add 1 tbsp curry powder, 1 tsp garlic powder, and a pinch of black pepper.
3. Let simmer for 20-25 minutes or until carrots are tender.
4. Add almond milk.
5. Turn off heat, and add spinach. Stir until spinach is wilted.
Optional: Slice mushrooms thinly, and saute in 2 tBsp of butter. Add on top of soup!
a couple of years ago, right around the time that d + b started doing television dinner, in fact, i discovered college inn's thai coconut curry culinary broth. i know, most chefs advocate that you make your own from scratch, but, this broth is truly da bomb. we've also made the coconut lime curry soup recipe on the back of the box and it's kind of out of this world. creamy, lime-y, slightly spicy. ugh. want.
Serve with crusty delicious bread and fabulous french cheese!
the result:
to be honest, we were all kind of worried as we mashed up two different recipes to make this week's soup: verses from my kitchen's pumpkin, coconut and lime soup and a white bean, spinach and pumpkin soup that d's mom had made the week before. at some point, we just started throwing ingredients in there willy-nilly -- sure, add cumin! why not carrots?! bring on the beans! -- and while it all bubbled in its cauldron, we worried that we had made a puking pastille instead of a love potion.
and yet -- resounding success! it all somehow worked together to create a hearty, sweet but slightly spicy soup perfect for a chilly fall evening filled with spooky programming. speaking of...
THE TELEVISION
show: the walking dead
season: 1
episode: 1
title: days gone by
as we all probably know by the proliferation of slutty everything costumes appearance of plastic dead people on our neighbors' lawns, halloween season is upon us and what better way to kick off all the gore and pumpkin-core than with amc's comic-turned-tv-show the walking dead?!
welp, d and lil c did not quite see it that way. while ladies of sufficient bamf-ery, those two are absolute wimps when it comes to scary things. these freaks can't even watch E.T., okay? so, i had to kind of, sort of, a teensy little bit trick them into watching the walking dead. whoops.
we opened innocently enough with an enjoyable episode of up all night, will arnett and christina applegate's hilarious new nbc comedy (which i intend to review in the future). i then just sort of let the netflix rip and ta-da! it was playing! can't stop it now! (actually quite easy to stop).
while they quivered under their blankets, i was sucked in to the small-town setting of the walking dead and a new(ish) take on the trope of the old west ghost town. the walking dead certainly has westerns in mind, what with the protagonist (andrew lincoln from love, actually) being a sheriff, the transportation by horse bit and the frightening new frontier tone that pervaded throughout the episode.
 |
| horse with no name... because it was eaten by zombies |
much of the mythology will be familiar to zombie devotees: rag tag groups of survivors going underground, one must destroy the head or neck, their slow walk and dead eyes. not much innovation there. where the walking dead piqued my interest was in its take on starting over after the fall. we're all so addicted to our conveniences, what happens when these are taken away? how does a community start from scratch, after the fall?
getting back to the westerns theme, i appreciate that the show is distinctly american (as shaun of the dead was distinctly british). the hero as sheriff (as mentioned above); the hero's progression in his vehicle choice from bike, to horse to tank are all pieces of americana. our hero himself is a stoic, quiet, john wayne-type who don't like to air his feelins. here, the world after the fall is akin to the wild west, where vigilantes and outlaws rule the day as our heroes progress towards some kind of new beginning.
it also had some fear factor. the most lasting image from the episode, for me, was of the half-woman zombie pulling herself weakly along, aching for scraps of meat. the show was able to render the main antagonist of the show as a pathetic, maybe even empathetic character who deserved our pity.
and while all the zombie stuff is a bit been there done that, the walking dead had enough other things happening that made me want to see more. i'm excited that this show has only 6 episodes as well -- a good, short run that is sure to be packed with thrills, chills and thought pills(?).
highlights:
- the virtually dialouge-less scene from when the sheriff wakes up from his coma until he reaches his house. andrew lincoln's silent portrayal of a man who woke up from a dream into a nightmare is extremely affecting. especially the part with the matches in the hallway.
- the creepy opening with the child zombie. d tried to watch that part alone and had to turn it off before she turned around because it was so scary!
- when the father attempts to kill his now-zombie wife, as his son weeps below. i totally dig the father-son on the run relationship here. their dynamic reminded me of michael and walt from LOST and the father and son from cormac mccarthy's the road.
memorable lines:
Glenn: [Right after Rick got stuck in a tank surrounded by zombies and he lost all hope, a voice comes through the radio] Hey you! Dumb ass! Hey you in the tank! Cozy in there?
episode mvp: can i mark it as a tie between andrew lincoln and the half-corpse? this whole scene is really the mvp for me.
that's about it ghouls and gals. any zombie fans out there with opinions on the walking dead? what's the scariest movie you've ever seen (me: the ring)? got any recipe or show ideas? hit us up in the comments!
yours in spookiness,
tvd
This is amazing! Thank you I love it!
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