Macro-monsters

I ran across this article the other day and thought about how much some of the images remind me of aliens in sci-fi movies.

This guy (a maggot head) kind of reminds me of

this guy     

And this guy

definitely makes me think of this guy...

There are so many things in this world that are so foreign to most of us. I'm guessing the majority of us don't do macro photography or spend time looking at maggots or ants or dust mites under microscopes. But, sometimes it's close attention that sparks the imagination. Like... what if these things were super-sized? Lots of cheesy (and some good) horror movies have been spawned by ants and spiders and other creatures.  And, lots of fictional alien species probably have their imaginary DNA firmly rooted in critters that we barely pay attention to... but, someone did. Someone with a wild imagination and wilder ideas... 

Why don't you check out the pics in the Daily Telegraph slide show & imagine what these creatures might be or do if they really were bigger than life. Care to share your thoughts? :)

Surround Yourself with Your World

So I was recently cruising the intarwebs and stumbled across the Hoxton Street Monster Supplies, "Bespoke and Everyday Items for the Living, Dead, and Undead" (via The Daily What)

This is the awesomest thing evar.

Dude, check it. The shelves are lined with giant wrenches called "neck bolt tighteners," the payment sign states it won't take beans (magic or otherwise) for payment, and there's every kind of canned fear imaginable, from tinned "escalating panic" to "a vague sense of unease."

This store is perfect to every last detail. Personally, my favorite is the jars of "Organ Marmalade" (*snerk* Get it? Get it?)

But the very very best part of all this? The Monster Supply store actually houses a writing center for kids. Behind the awesome displays is a cleverly hidden classroom station:

Because, while you can certainly grab a jar of "Thickest Human Snot" on your way in, this building isn't actually a Monster Supply Store: it's the British Ministry of Stories, an area created specifically to help young authors grow in their craft.

The Ministry of Stories was designed in collaboration with We Made This, and according to their site:

The Ministry has already hosted a series of workshops with local children, all of whom seem to have thoroughly enjoyed the experience. And the press, including BBC News, The Today Programme, and The Guardian, have naturally enough, taken a fair interest.

You can also visit the official site of the MoS here.

All of this got me thinking about space and inspiration. I fully believe what we surround ourselves with influences what and how we write. I recently posted on my own blog about how, despite the fact that I was working on a huge deadline, I had to clean the entire house. Once I had my house in order, I could order my brain and get my ideas on paper.

But, of course, it's more than that. All my life I've been fascinated with stars and astronomy. Moons and stars decorate my sheets and towels. When I was in high school, I created an astronomically correct mural of the constellations on my ceiling using glow-in-the-dark stars. I have more star related jewelry than anything else. I use a planetarium as a nightlight. It's not that far of a stretch that I write a science fiction novel where I can make my characters fly through the stars.

You can look at the Ministry of Stories and know immediately what kind of awesome adventures some of those kids will be writing about. Take a look at my star charts and you can see what kind of stories I write.

So look around yourself: What does your space say about your writing? 

League Break!

Hi guys! The League's taking the week off for Thanksgiving holidays. Go eat some Turkey--and if you'd like, tell us here what you're thankful for. :)

What's In Your Pantry?

Okay, so this week we've been discussing foods in dystopian and science fiction novels. Let me just get this out there: I'm not much of a cook. Sure, spaghetti and stuff like that, but that hardly counts as "cooking."

So I thought of the YA dystopian novels I've read the past little while and what the people eat. HOW I LIVE NOW is brilliantly done, what with the way the chocolate becomes so important. But I decided on LIFE AS WE KNEW IT and THE SCORCH TRIALS.

In those two novels, food primarily comes from a can. So today, I give you a food storage recipe, one you supposedly can make with what you already have in your pantry. So if the apocalypse gets triggered tonight, tomorrow you can have Mexican casserole! Ole!

Ingredients:
1 family size package Kraft macaroni and cheese
1 can (12 3/4 oz) canned chicken
1 T. dehydrated onion flakes
1 can chili with beans
1 can tomato soup
1 T. chili powder
1 can corn
Cheddar cheese, cubed (optional--and you could use powdered cheese if you'd like.)
Fritos (optional--I mean, obviously. But who doesn't have like 50 bags of Fritos stored up??)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350º. Cook Kraft dinner according to directions in large pot. Meanwhile, heat chicken with onion flakes. Add to Kraft dinner with remaining ingredients. Heat through. Pour into casserole dish and top with fritos. Cover and bake 30 minutes.

Of course, this is assuming life in post-apocalyptic wherever-you-live still allows you to heat up your oven. Yeah, maybe you better get a cord of wood chopped and stored in the backyard, just in case.

And that concludes food week dystopian style! Hope you found at least something to set your mind at ease about the impending demise of the universe. Ha ha!

What would you eat post-apocalypse? What food do you want to try from your favorite dystopian or science fiction novel?

Spirits of the Apocalypse

This week, in honor of Thanksgiving, we're talking about food and drink--two very necessary things in any world, but especially in dystopias.  Food--as in running out or controlling the supply--is a recurrent theme in many dark visions of the future.  The denizens of dystopia may be scraping by on canned food or worse (Soylent Green anyone?), but, they usually find a good stiff drink can make that dreary future a little easier to swallow.

In the Battlestar Galactica universe, Ambrosia, a popular green liquor, is just that drink. Ellen and Saul Tighe toast with it when they’re reunited. Gaeta imbibes a little green courage to get a tattoo. Amanda Graystone and Sister Clarice share a taste for particular variety of it (on Caprica).

Ambrosia is to Galactica as Scotch is to Mad Men.

In the auction of BSG props last year, the  large Ambrosia bottle below went for over $400.  The label says that Ambrosia is  distilled in the Bliffe sector by prisoners who "are treated as well as could be expected considering the hostile planetary conditions."  In the original series, I think the Galactica liberated the prisoners--and a fair number of cases of Ambrosia--as the rag-tag fugitive fleet made it's way out of Dodge.

Since Ambrosia is green, some sci-fi aficionados think it’s absinthe or some kind wine. But the Geeky Chef  put a little more thought into his recipe for it:

Ingredients
6 oz Midori
4 oz Blue Curacao
2 oz lime juice
Ice

Geeky Chef’s recipe directions say to mix in a Margaritaville Frozen Concoction maker, but I bet you can use a blender. Or not.

Can you think of any other drinks inspired by science fiction, fantasy, or dystopian lit?Anyone have a good recipe for a Pan-galactic Gargleblaster? Or Klah? (Bonus points if you know where those are from.)  Or make one up! What drink would you be thankful to down during the days of dystopia?

(Oh, if you do try one of these, please drink responsibly. The world's not coming to an end ... yet.)

Weight Watchers Cancelled Due to Apocalypse

Ok, so let's say you find out end of the world is coming tomorrow, are you really going to keep worrying about calories? I think not. So if you really want to go out in style I suggest making  this Snickers Bar inspired Caramel, Peanut Butter, Chocolate Pie as one final glorious indulgence.

Trust me here, it only seems complicated. I made it for Halloween and it turned out great. If you I can do it so can you. And hey, if it really is the last pie you'll ever make, you might as well shoot for the moon right?

Thanks to Martha Stewart for the recipe! My comments are in bold.

Ingredients

FOR THE CHOCOLATE CRUST
    1 box (9 ounces) chocolate wafer cookies, finely ground (2 1/3 cups)
    1 tablespoon granulated sugar
    Salt
    1 stick unsalted butter, melted
   
FOR THE CARAMEL SAUCE
    1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
    1/4 cup water
    1 cup heavy cream
    1/3 cup creme fraiche (I couldn't find Creme Fraiche and imagine most people won't either. Plain sour cream works perfectly)
    1 cup roasted salted peanuts
   
FOR THE PEANUT BUTTER MOUSSE
    8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
    1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
    Salt
    1 1/4 cups smooth peanut butter
    1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
    1 cup heavy cream
   
FOR THE CHOCOLATE GANACHE
    7 ounces semisweet chocolate (preferably 56 percent cacao), chopped
    1 cup heavy cream


Directions

    1.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make the chocolate crust: Combine cookie crumbs, granulated sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Stir in butter. Press mixture into bottom and 2 1/2 inches up sides of 9-inch springform pan. Bake until dry and firm, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool.

    2.    Make the caramel sauce: Heat granulated sugar and water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, washing down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming (I was not able to prevent sugar crystals from forming and it did not seem to matter)  until medium amber, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and carefully add heavy cream (mixture will bubble and steam). Return to heat, and bring to a boil, making sure caramel that seized up when cream was added melts. Transfer to a bowl, and stir in creme fraiche. Refrigerate until cool but still pourable, about 45 minutes. Fold in peanuts.

    3.    Meanwhile, make the peanut butter mousse: Beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add peanut butter and vanilla, and beat until combined. Whisk heavy cream in a separate bowl until medium-stiff peaks form. (It seems like it'd be easier to use store bought whipped cream, but I'd refrain as it would be too sweet. And besides, making your own whipped cream feels like magic!) Fold one-third of the whipped cream into peanut butter mixture. Fold in remaining whipped cream in 2 additions. (If you've never folded it's kind of like a very delicate stir. Here's a great video on how to do it.)

    4.    Assemble the tart: Pour caramel sauce into cooled chocolate crust. (Then let cool in fridge or freezer until caramel is nearly solid. I found that if the caramel is at all liquid the mousse will push it out of the way and your won't get two nice layers)  Gently spread peanut butter mousse over caramel in an even layer, making sure they don't blend together. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

    5.    Make the chocolate ganache: Place chocolate in a small heatproof bowl. Bring cream to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Pour cream over chocolate, and let stand for 1 minute. Whisk to combine. (Use immediately.)

    6.    Remove tart from refrigerator, and pour in ganache to cover surface. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. 






So there you have it. Dig in without remorse! If by some chance you make this and the apocalypse does not come the next day, fear not, this freezes very well.

Oh, and for all of you non peanut butter lovers out there, a variation that occurred to me would be to axe the peanut butter mousse entirely and substitute your favorite ice cream for that layer. Just let the ice cream thaw until it's spreadable, spread over the caramel and then freeze until it's hard enough to top with ganache.


Let me know how it goes if you all make this. Or just tell us about what you make when calories don't matter!

Jeff Hirsch

The Eleventh Plague

Coming from Scholastic, Fall 2011

Find me at jeff-hirsch.com and @jeff_hirsch

Would you like tofu with that?

In keeping with Foodie Week... I really am not going to share a vegetarian (vegan even) recipe with y'all. But, first, a little story...

I've been a vegetarian for a long time, but several years ago I went through a vegan period. I was having such fun making old recipes into vegetarian/vegan ones that I decided to do a cooking show. I partnered with our local cable TV station (BCat) and wrote, produced, edited and starred in four (or it might have been 5 - I don't remember) episodes of my own vegan cooking show. Of course, I am sure you can guess the title... Cooking with the Other Julia!  It was a local hit! lol!

In my novel, XVI, the society is vegetarian. Eating meat is illegal - mainly because there are very few animals left in the world. So... there's lots of seitan burgers, tofu fries and other vegetarian/vegan delights in the book. But, because the League's readership may not be ready for tofu cheezecake... I offer up my award-winning (non-vegan) chocolate cake recipe.

Three layer chocolate cake with chocolate icing.

cream together
1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter
1-3/4 cup sugar
1 T. vanilla

add
3 eggs - beat well

sift together
1 cup cocoa
2-1/4 cups regular flour
1 tsp baking soda
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Add to butter mixture alternately with 1-3/4 cups milk.

Divide between 3 greased/cocoa-ed (rather than floured) 9" baking pans.

Bake for 25-30 minutes in 350 degree oven.
Let cool in pans for 10 minutes
Remove from pans & continue to cool
Fill & spread with Chocolate Frosting

Chocolate Frosting
1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter
4 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
2 tsp vanilla
4 to 5 T. milk

Mix all & beat until smooth. Spread between layers and on top of cooled chocolate cake.

Enjoy!

I apologize for lack of pictures... *licks beaters* Maybe next week.