new stuff on the internets

new, blog, stuff

Please see the new Susie Cagle blog for more blog action.

recipe entry #1: chocolate chunk walnut clusterfucks

sweet, vegan, fun for the whole fam

Growing up in the San Fernando Valley (like omg) my family ate at restaurants or got take out nearly every night of the week. I chalk this up to my parents’ extremely busy schedules, plus their New York nostalgia. And now that I live in NYC, it’s very easy to do the same (especially with a Vegetarian Palate that delivers so promptly).

However, these factors have not only put a large dent in my little wallet, but have also made me a relatively incompetent cook. Lately I’ve been making strides to remedy this. These cookies are the sad victims of my learning process.

This cookie recipe was taken (and subsequently mutilated) from the Vegan Family Cookbook.

Ingredients:
1.5 cups flour
1.5 teaspoons egg replacer powder
.5 teaspoon of baking soda
.5 teaspoon salt
.666.. cup brown sugar (or white if that’s all you got)
.5 cup margarine
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Way too many chocolate chunks
Way too many chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

1. Mix the flour + egg replacer + baking soda + salt in one bowl.
2. Mix the sugar + margarine + water + vanilla in another bowl.
3. Mix the bowl contents together.
4. Do not be alarmed that the dough is not really sticking together – just add tablespoons of water until it becomes one big creamy clump.
5. Now add way too many chocolate chunks.
6. And way too many chopped walnuts.
7. Spoon large clumps onto a nonstick cookie sheet. The VFC recipe makes 24, but this makes only a lucky 13, because the clumps are so damn big!
8. Bake for about 15 minutes or until they become nicely tanned. Do not be alarmed that the clusterfucks do not spread like normal cookies. This is to be expected.

And: Do not be alarmed that the clusterfucks look kind of gross – they taste awesome!

quick monday: a hot little number

women, men, equality now? or something

This is the first in what will hopefully be a regular occurence of Quick Mondays, a short spot on something short and sweet.

This past weekend was the Tokion Creativity Now conference. If you aren't familiar, Tokion is a beautifully designed, less beautifully written cultury magazine based in NY and Tokio. Each October they put on a two-day conference on "the arts." This year, all the scheduled speakers were men. They claimed more women would show up, but I haven't heard word on whether this actually occurred or not - if you went and could shed light on this point, I'd be very interested to hear what happened. In any event, here is an interesting e-mail exchange between the artsy Wooster Collective and Tokion's editor in chief Ken Miller, regarding this gender disparity.

Coming soon, some less-quick and less-regular: cookie recipes, trials and tribulations, and other things of brief interest.

the requisite g-list update. why else would you be reading, really?

comics, kitties, jewery

So forget that whole thing about me updating more often and what-not: clearly it was all a horrible lie, and for that I cannot be too sorry, for in my non-blogging time, I have obtained a fantastic, legal apartment in Brooklyn, and I've run into all sorts of random celebrities and celebrities-to-me. It's not quite Gawker Stalker, sure, but those guys suck anyway.

Today I saw Adrian Tomine walking on Atlantic Avenue between 3rd and 4th Avenue. He was carrying a cat in a cream-colored plastic caddy-thing, probably on his way to Hope Vet down the street. Adrian and I had about 15 feet of awkward eye contact, which I'm pretty sure was construed on his end as "Indie-looking girl knows who I am." Well, you're damn right, friend.

Incidentally, Adrian will be on a panel at the 92nd Street Y on October 26th at 7 p.m. with Jonathan Bennett, David Heatley, Lauren Weinstein and Ivan Brunetti promoting Ivan's new book, An Anthology of Graphic Fiction. So attend and be shocked and awed by all the awkward graphic talent - you will not be disappointed.

news? like, what news?

news, feminism?, courage indeed

A week after Katie Couric’s unfortunate CBS Evening News debut, I cannot help but reflect on what Couric’s new $15 million position means for America.

Like, bad things.

So, first sole female evening news anchor – uh huh, whatever. She broke the glass ceiling with one high cheerleader kick – not with actual journalism experience or thoughtful reportage. She’s exactly what America v. ’06 wants: attractive, vapid and rich. She’s topping the ratings because we’ve sunk to a new low. She showed the Tom Cruise (alien) baby pictures on the evening news for christ’s sake.

What I’m really trying to say is I’m glad I don’t own a television.

clinton hill trifecta: a clickable drawring retrospective

brooklyn, sketchy, le maxi

click and they shall grow.

a terrible, horrible, no good very bad fourteen hours

whines, karma, the curse of the “middle” class

In list form, for (ha) minimal whining:

• Sick.
• Have upwards of 50 mosquito bites.
• Flight (Charlotte, NC to New York, NY) delayed due to bad weather; sit on runway in plane for two hours.
• Instead of being rerouted from La Guardia, which closes for four hours each night, flight is simply cancelled
• US Airways “not responsible for passenger accommodations,” spend 62$ at Ramada Inn for 4 hours sleep as am not allowed to stay in the airport overnight.
• Phone breaks.
• Arrive in New York; cab ride from LGA to Clinton Hill home takes ~40 minutes, including the first 4 during which cabbie yells at dispatcher, trying to get her to explain to him how to get to Clinton Hill, and final 2 during which cabbie yells at me for not tipping him more than 10% (I’m usually nicer, I swear).
• Arrive home to find hefty bill previously thought resolved actually totally unresolved
• and glass souvenir completely shattered in luggage, beyond repair
• and no one home to complain to.

So I turned to you, dear internet. Thank god for the internet.


In conclusion: I urge friends and readers (and even enemies) not to fly US Airways, at least not into New York.

Also: I am committed to doing some good deeds in the next few days to make up for what appears to be absolutely terrible karma on my part. If you need a good deed done, please e-mail me. I would be happy to assist. I’m nice, I swear!

Granted, this was the fourteen hours following a fantastic nine day vacation with my fantastic family in the Caribbean, which I will relive for you in words and pictures over the coming days. I feel it is best to work backwards like this, so I do not relive awful fourteen hours in a few days and feel bad all over again.

Some thoughts: this is repentance for great vacation? Or larger issue: generally charmed life, in comparison to world population? I mean, in times of trouble at least I have the dear, dear internet (TGFTI).

So, stay tuned. I know I’ve said I’ll be updating more frequently in the past and it’s turned out to be quite a bald-faced lie, but it’s true this time. Really, I wouldn’t lie – I don’t need that kind of karma.