Potato Gnocchi

From Italian Cooking for Dummies.

Ingredients

• 4 potatoes (1 large, 3 small)
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/3 c. flour (you will probably use more)
• salt and pepper

Methodology

1. Cook potatoes in microwave. Scoop insides out of skin and mash with a fork.

2. Add eggs and salt and pepper. Mix. Add flour until you have dough. This will eventually require that you knead the dough with your hands, so be sure the counter is clean.

3. Roll out into 1.5" diameter log, cut into 1" pieces.

4. Run over the tines of a fork and drop into boiling water for about 3 minutes. Scoop out about one minute after they begin to float to the top.

5. Serve with pesto.

Notes

*Easy easy easy. The longest part was waiting for the potatoes to cook in the microwave.

*0/7 on the disaster scale.

Three-Bean Rainbow Chili

For all your chili needs. Based on this recipe from Epicurious.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled, thinly sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded, chopped
• 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 zucchini, sliced
  
• 3 large jalapeño chilies, seeded, diced
  
• 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 15-oz can diced tomatoes
  
• 5 cups water
• 1 26.5-ounce cans black beans, rinsed, drained
• 1 15-ounce cans dark red kidney beans, rinsed, drained
• 1 15-oz can light red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 15-oz can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
  
• 3/4 cup bulgur (cracked wheat), rinsed
  
• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp. salt
  

Methodology

1. Cut up the vegetables or make some other people do that. Put the olive oil, carrots, onions, jalapeno and bell peppers, and zucchini in the pot and sauté over medium-high heat until tender, about 8-10 minutes.

2. Add the spices, then the rest of the ingredients. Stir, then cover and let it boil until the bulgar is cooked, about 20 minutes.

3. Serve with cheddar cheese and/or bread.

Notes

*The original recipe said that it made 6 servings, so to feed 6 people B and I decided to multiply it by 1.5. Now it makes about 27 15 10-12 servings. If you want to cut it back down, I'd suggest cutting the black and kidney beans to one can each and taking away the smaller can of tomatoes.

*Be careful when you serve it, since it will be quite hot. Try not to burn yourself or others, it is a little embarrassing to have your cooking experiments end in injury.

*The dish was well-received by all. 0/7 on the disaster index!

Em oi! #187 & 188

Compared to next week's comics, #188 is not so exciting. I'm fond of #187 though.

Em oi! #185 & #186

Got a bit hung up on other stuff this weekend and these, consequently, were not posted.



I suppose I have no additional commentary on them, except that the longer I look at 186, the less satisfied with the art I am.

Random Vegetable Curry

Does that sound like kind of an apathetic title? Because this is kind of an apathetic recipe. Luckily it was delicious.

Ingredients

• 1/2 eggplant, chopped
• 1/2 sweet potato, chopped
• 1 large zucchini
• 1 1/4 blocks baked tofu, chopped
• 1 tin chickpeas
• 1 tin nuoc cot dua (coconut cream or coconut milk)
• 1 T. red Thai curry paste
• 1 T. brown sugar
• 1-2 T. soy sauce
• 1 handful spinach
  

Methodology

1. Put veg in pot with a little oil. Add coconut milk and let it simmer.

2. Add curry paste and brown sugar. After a while, add in the tofu and the chickpeas. Cover and let everything boil until the sweet potato is tender.

3. Add the soy sauce (to taste). Throw in a handful of spinach at the end and let it wilt.

4. That's it.

Notes

*This came out well. Good with toasted pita.

*About 250 calories if serving 6, if 8 about 192.

*Needs more curry paste.

Oatmeal Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

From here, with some changes.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 c. white whole wheat flour
• 1 c. quick oats
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
  
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1/4 c. margarine
• 1/2 c. + 2 T (6 oz) low fat plain yoghurt
• 1 tsp. vanilla
  
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 c. + 1 T. dried cranberries
• 1/2 c. + 1 T. chocolate chips

Methodology

1. Preheat oven to 350*.

2. Mix flour, oats, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl.

3. Mix brown sugar, margarine, yoghurt, vanilla, and the egg in another bowl. Stir the wet into the dry until all combined, adding a little extra flour if necessary.

4. Add the chips and cranberries. Drop in heaping teaspoons two inches apart on a greased cookie sheet and bake for about 10 minutes, or until brown.

Notes

*Makes about 30. I forgot to count before I got into them, but I think it's about 30. With my changes, it works out to about 104.5 calories/cookie.

*Very fluffy and cake-like. I was worried that they weren't good, but then my taste-testers ate about 8 of them between the two of them, so I figure they're okay. Next time maybe I'll use actual butter and just leave out the yoghurt, see if that makes them a little crisper. Also regular oats instead of quick oats.

Em oi! #184

I'm pretty sure this is exactly what Vung Tau was like. Amirite, Ly?

Another script found while moving.

Em oi! #183

This raises the question of "Should I ask?", which I guess I'm not entirely comfortable with.

This was a panel from a script I found while moving. It was never drawn, since it had too many people in the panels to look clean.

The Remarkable Ice Cream Cake

So I have this idea that major life changes should be rewarded with cake. It seems like a good way to let people know that you approve of their choices - in this case, quitting an awful job.
This recipe has a lot of parts and takes a while to put together, but it's not actually very difficult. It's vegan because the friend I baked it for is vegan, but it doesn't have to be.

Ingredients

Cake:
1 1/3 c. flour (I use white-whole wheat)
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger (or a bit more)
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. pureed pumpkin
2 T. oil (like vegetable oil or canola oil)
1/2 c. molasses
1/2 c. hot water.

Ice cream:
1 quart vanilla soy ice cream (I used "It's So Delicious" brand because it was on sale)
1 package candied ginger (you can get this at an Asian food store, esp. around Chinese New Year)

Compote:
1/2 c. frozen berries
2 T. orange marmalade
2 T. grand marnier
1 T. brown sugar

Crust:
4 sheets cinnamon graham crackers
1 T. oil
1-2 T. brown sugar

Methodology

1. Cake: Preheat oven to 350*. Combine wet ingredients (pumpkin, sugar, molasses, oil, water) and dry ingredients (everything else) in seperate bowls. Mix dry into wet. Put in an oiled bread pan and bake ~35-40 minutes (I recommend checking after about 25).

2. Ice Cream: take the ice cream out of the fridge and let it sit on the counter. Open the package of ginger and chop it up in the food processor (or cut it by hand) into bite-sized pieces (think small, like raisins). By the time you finish, the ice cream should be softening but not soupy. Scoop it out into a large bowl, then add in the ginger and mix. This may take a bit of muscle to combine it well, but it shouldn't take too long. If it's really difficult, wait a few minutes until the ice cream is softer. When combined, scoop the ice cream back into the carton, cover, and return to freezer.

3. Compote: In a small sauce pan over low heat, put the berries, the marmalade, the grand marnier, and the brown sugar. You may want to add a little water, but not more than a tablespoon or two. Keep an eye on this, stirring occasionally, until the berries are melted, then turn up the heat to medium and let it simmer until you have something a bit less stiff than jam but more stiff than, oh, strawberry soup or something. This is called a reduction, incidentally. If you have corn startch, you can add that as a thickening agent (maybe a teaspoon?) when you turn the heat up, but I'd go slowly with that. When the berries are reduced, turn off the burner, put them in a container, and stick it in the fridge to cool. Incidentally, you may want to use your spoon to break up some of the larger berries to create a more uniform sauce.

4. When the cake is done, turn it out of the pan to cool. After about 30 minutes, wrap it in foil and stick it in the fridge for a couple of hours. Wash the pan.

5. So everything is cool. Line the pan with cling film, leaving the pieces long so plenty hangs over (later on, you will wrap these pieces across the top of the cake). Take the ice cream out of the freezer and (when it is soft enough) spread a layer about an inch thick on the bottom of the pan and a little ways up the sides.

6. The cake is sort of wedge shaped, since the bread pan is a flat-bottomed, gradually widening V-shap (like this: \____/). Cut the cake in half and put the bottom half in the pan (by this I mean the same part which was touching the bottom of the pan when the cake was baking.

7. Drizzle a teaspoon or two of grand marnier on the cake, then spread the layer with berries. You should have just enough to go across. You could also use raspberry jam or something here.

8. Put another thin layer of ice cream over the berries.

9. Put the last piece of cake on. I had to cut mine somewhat thinner to make everything fit in the pan. You can drizzle this with liquor if you want, then cover with ice cream. Put the whole thing in the freezer.

10. In a dish, crush up the graham crackers. Add the oil and sugar, mixing until you get something like a graham cracker crust. Spread this across the bottom of the cake. Cover the whole pan with cling film and return to freezer for about an hour.

11. To serve, unwrap the cling film. Put a plate on the bottom of the pan and invert, then remove the pan and cling film. You can add frosting on top now, if you wish.


Notes

*If you are not vegan, you can use regular ice cream, change the flavours around, etc. This was ginger + gingerbread because my friend really likes gingerbread. If I were making it for myself, it would probably be coffee+chocolate+rum with orange/raspberry in the middle, something like that.

*0/7. There were no problems at all, and I've been asked for the recipe a number of times already.

Em oi! #182

I love cookies.

I love boys who bring me cookies.

I know that's not really very deep, but that's the sum total of my thoughts on this.

Em oi! #181

As promised, the comic. (This one is Saturday's).

So I was going to write a formal review of Brideshead, Revisited, but this pretty much covers it.

Peanut Butter Banana Cookies

The original recipe was this one, though I'm not sure if that's the original site I downloaded it from.

My best friend and I messed with the recipe a bit, as you can see.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup peanut butter
• 2 ripe bananas (overripe is fine)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp soy milk
• 1 1/2 T. brown sugar
• 1 1/2 T. honey
  
• 2 ½ cups quick cooking or rolled oatmeal
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
  
• dash cinnamon (optional)
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 c. raisins
• 1/4 c. chopped walnuts
• 1/4 c. chocolate chips
  

Methodology

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Mash bananas in a bowl. Measure 1/3 c. (6 T.) of (smooth) peanut butter into a bowl and stick it in the microwave for about 45 seconds. Combine it with the bananas and add in the vanilla, sugar, honey, and soy milk.

3. Mix in the dry ingredients (oats, baking powder, flour, salt, cinnamon, and mix-ins).

4. Drop tablespoon-sized balls onto greased cookie sheets; they don't spread, so you can put them pretty close together. Bake ~13 minutes.

Notes

*May have needed more salt, but I ran a half marathon this morning, so I'm not really one to judge.

*Maybe more peanut butter next time? Also probably won't do walnuts again. I'm just not big on nuts in cookies, except possibly brownies.

*Batch made 34; a test batch I made last week made 17, so I'm fairly confident in this number.

*0/7 disaster rating. Without raisins or walnuts, and using just brown sugar instead of sugar and honey, these have about 70 calories/cookie. I'm not sure how that changes with the extra stuff.

Curried Pumpkin Soup

I haven't felt much like cooking recently, but I had some extra pumpkin in the fridge I needed to do something with.

Ingredients

• 1/2 jumbo yellow onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic
• about 2 T garlic or other oil
• 1/2 cube bouillion
• about 1/3 c. frozen corn
  
• 1 15-oz. tin of pumpkin, less one cup
• 1.5 c. water
• 1/2 c. skim milk
• 2 T. curry powder
• 1 T. garam masala
• 1/4 tsp coriander
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• a sprinkle of cinnamon, salt and pepper to taste
  
• 1 T + 1 tsp brown sugar

Methodology

1. Drizzle oil in a pot and throw in the garlic until it sizzles. Add onion and corn. After a bit of cooking, add bouillion cube, sugar, and spices. After a few minutes more, add about a cup of water.

2. Add the pumpkin. Mix, then taste and reseason if needed. Add another half cup of water and half a cup of milk. You can add more milk or water if you want a thinner soup.

3. Serve with bread (I used rye) and (white, sharp) cheddar on top, if desired.

Notes

*Makes about enough for 3. If I'd had the blender, I'd've purreed some carrots and put those in, too.

*1/7 on the disaster index. Careful when it boils.

Banana Bread Recipe, perfected

A few changes to this recipe to make it better. Yes.

Ingredients

• 1.5c white whole wheat flour
• 1tsp baking soda
• 1.5tsp baking powder
• 1tsp salt
• 1/2c brown sugar
• 3 very ripe bananas
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/3c. buttermilk
• 6 oz low fat plain yoghurt
• 1 T. cinnamon
• 1/2 c. chocolate chips, or until it looks right

Changes are bolded. Mix dry and wet as before, combine and bake at 350 for ~1 hr. If veganizing (which I haven't tried), I would replace the buttermilk with soy milk + vinegar and add plain or vanilla soy yoghurt or about 1/4 c. soy margarine. I will have to try this sometime.

Eggplant Rolls

Some recipes on here start out as “I was hungry”. Some start out as “I was bored”, or “I was tired”, or “I needed to use up a bunch of vegetables”. This one started out as a sort of combination of all of these, and turned out to be something amazing. Don’t be put off by the lengthy prep procedure; it wasn’t really very hard, and the results were worth it. Inspired by this recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 medium eggplant
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 zucchini
• 1/2 onion
• 1/2 tin diced tomatoes (~14 oz)
• 1 large crimini mushroom
• 1/2 package frozen chopped spinach
• 1 piece baked tofu (optional)
• 2 T. feta cheese (I used fat-free feta)
• Salsa, to taste (optional)

Methodology

1. Slice eggplant into “steaks” the long way, about half an inch thick. Lay them out on a plate and salt them on both sides with sea salt, then let them sit for a while (about twenty minutes?)

2. Chop other ingredients. Heat wok with oil of choice (I use garlic oil), add garlic and sauté a little. Add onion and mushroom, wait a few minutes, then add zucchini. Season with paprika, basil, salt, and pepper.

3. After that starts to look cooked (or dry, I guess), add spinach, tofu, and tomatoes. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally.

4. Heat up a frying pan with a little oil in it. Wash off the eggplant “steaks” and blot them dry, then put in the pan. Drizzle with a little oil, season with paprika, salt, and pepper. After about 3-4 minutes, flip them and let them cook on the other side. They will become sort of pliable and soft, but they should not become mush.

5. When all the eggplant is cooked, mix the feta into the sauce. Put one piece of eggplant on a plate and top with about 1/4 cup sauce, then use your fingers or a spoon to roll it up. This is something of a delicate operation if you are really hungry.

6. Top with salsa or pasta sauce.

Notes

*Makes about enough for three people if they are not too hungry, or two if they are (which is to say, if they’re me).

*This took about 45 minutes start-to-finish, including a little time-out to clean up after a cat, yell at him, sulk, and deal with him sulking.

*Fantastic and delicious. 0/7 on the disaster index.

*Next time I will try adding either rice or chickpeas, for more texture/carbs/protein.

Lazy Brownies with Rum Glaze

What do you do when you don't want to go to the store, but you are craving fudgy brownies like woah? Improvise.

This is based on my mother's parve mayonnaise brownies recipe.

Ingredients

Brownies

• 1 1/4 c. flour
• 3/4 c. cocoa powder (unsweetened, non-dutched)
  
• 1 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 T. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 c. water
• 1/3 c. mayonnaise
• 1 small container (~6 oz.) low fat plain yoghurt
• 1/4 c. mini chocolate chips (semi-sweet)
• 1/4 c. dried cranberries and raisins
  

Glaze

• 1/3 c. rum
• 2/3 c. powdered/icing sugar (approx.)
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• a sprinkle of cardamum

Methodology

1. Preheat the oven to 350*.

2. Mix flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, cocoa, and spices.

3. Add in mayo, water, and yoghurt. You may need to add more water to bring it to the right consistancy.

4. Add chips, cranberries, and raisins. Put in a greased 9x13 pan and bake for ~30 minutes.

5. Mix glaze ingrediants while brownies cool. Cut brownies, then drizzle glaze over with a fork. Eat.

Notes

*Not quite what I expected, but rich and fudgy. Also, rum + running is maybe not my greatest idea ever. Or perhaps it is. Mmm.

*Could have plumped raisins first with hot water. Hm.

*Had to call Daniel to ask him how long mayo keeps for. Apparently a long time.

*2/7 on the disaster index.

ETA: These keep well in the fridge, becomng even more fudgy. I recommend serving them with whipped cream and fresh raspberries. Going to try freezing them to see how that works.

Cauliflower Curry

I've been feeling kind of off my game lately. In a rut, so to speak. So I thought I'd try something much different - caulflower curry, or gobi aloo (I think this is its Hindi name). This recipe is based on a number of recipes I looked up, primarily this one. That said, if you're asking where the potato which crept in came from, the answer is I'm really not sure. A lot of the other recipes (though not all of them) called for varying amounts of potato.

Ingredients

• 1 medium sized cauliflower, cut into florets
  
• ~1/2 T. garlic powder
  
• 1 medium sized onion, chopped
  
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
  
• 1/2 tsp red cayenne pepper
  
• 1/2 tsp coriander (dry, not fresh)
  
• 1/2 tsp cumin
  
• salt to taste
• 1/2 tin diced tomatoes (large-size tin, about 14 oz.)
• 1 T. garam masala
• 1 tsp. curry powder
  
• oil
• 1 tsp. brown sugar
• 2/3 c. rice and 1 1/3 c. water
  

Methodology

0. Start rice.

1. Cut up cauliflower and blanch in salted water - just drop it in for a minute or two until it is a little tender. Drain.

2. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a wok and stir-fry the cauliflower until it starts to brown. Remove and set aside.

3. Heat half a tablespoon or so of oil in the wok and add the garlic powder, then add the onion and sauté until transparent. Add the spices except for salt, garam marsala, and curry powder, then add the tomatoes and cook for a while. The original recipe said "until the oil separates", but I just waited until it looked kind of sauce-like, about 5 minutes.

4. Add the potatoes, the cauliflower, the garam marsala, some salt, the curry powder, and the brown sugar. And keep an eye on the rice or it will burn.

5. Add about half a cup of water and cover until the potatoes are done, about 5-10 minutes. Check periodically and add more water if necessary to prevent burning.

6. Readjust spices. Serve over rice.

Notes

*A really labour-intensive recipe, and the results were...not what I'd hoped for. I had some cauliflower dumplings (I think this is what they were referred to as) at an Indian restaurant a few weeks ago, and this was not the same. That said, it was edible, and certainly not the worst thing I've ever made for myself. It seems to be growing ever-spicier in the fridge, which is kind of neat.

*5/7 on the disaster index.

*Might have been better with bread, if I'd gotten my act together and made some rotis or something instead of the rice.

Hangover Chip Muffins

A variation on this recipe. They do not cure a hangover, but they made me feel better about having one.

Ingredients

• 2 c. flour (I used "white whole wheat")
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 T. cocoa powder
  
• 1 egg
• 1 really overripe banana, frozen, thawed, and mashed
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 2 T. margarine, melted
• 1 1/2 c. (skim) milk
• 1/4 c. mini chocolate chips
  

Follow the rest of the recipe as given in previous entry. Makes 12 muffins, about 137.25 calories/muffin, give or take.

*Note: it's July, and these get bread mold pretty quick if you're not careful. Put them in the fridge or the freezer if you don't eat all of them the first day.

Book Review: Lex Luthor, Man of Steel

This one's almost too short to bother cross-posting it from GoodReads.com. Still.

If you've ever delved into the Superman comics at all, you've come across Lex Luthor, the billionaire who makes it his business to make life difficult for Our Hero. The back story between him and Clark Kent is pretty compelling stuff - friendship and betrayal in rural Kansas. But this isn't that story.

Brian Azzarello has interrogated Lex and come back with six issues of reasons to hate the Big Nietzschian Joke. There's nothing not to like here - the storytelling is tight, the art is gorge...more If you've ever delved into the Superman comics at all, you've come across Lex Luthor, the billionaire who makes it his business to make life difficult for Our Hero. The back story between him and Clark Kent is pretty compelling stuff - friendship and betrayal in rural Kansas. But this isn't that story.

Brian Azzarello has interrogated Lex and come back with six issues of reasons to hate the Big Nietzschian Joke. There's nothing not to like here - the storytelling is tight, the art is gorgeous and wonderfully consistent, and the story itself is perfect for Lex: rational on the surface, but with a depth of sadism to keep the sympathy at bay. Lex is always restrained and gentlemanly, but always ready to go for the jugular when you turn your head just right. He's always brutal, never losing himself in mawkish nostalgia. Best of all is the dichotomy between what he claims in his narration and the often brutal truths of his actions.

If you're looking for a good, quick read, or something which can show a neophyte how good comics can be, this is one for you.


Lex Luthor, Man of Steel, by Brian Azzarello with art by Lee Bermejo. 5 stars out of 7.

Balsamic Chocolate Drops

Originally from Habeas Brulee, via FatFree Vegan.

Ingredients

• 1 c. flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
  
• 5 T. margarine
• 1/2 c. + 1 T. cocoa powder (not dutched)
• 1/2 c. dark brown sugar (packed)
• 1/3 c. nonfat plain yoghurt
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 T. balsamic vinegar
  
• 1/4 c. mini chocolate chips
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 T. cinnamon and sugar mixture
  

Methodology

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add chips. Set aside.

3. In a sauce pan over low heat, melt the margarine. When it is done, turn off and add the sugar and the cocoa. Mix. Add the yoghurt, vanilla, and vinegar.

4. Add dry into wet. Don't overmix. Also if you are clever, wait a few extra minutes for the wet to cool enough that it won't melt the chocolate chips. Oops.

5. Drop tablespoons of dough about an inch apart on greased cookie sheets and flatten down gently. Mix the cinnamon and sugar and the sea salt and sprinkle on top. Bake about 10-11 minutes, switching the sheets halfway through.

Notes

*Makes 24 cookies, about 79 calories each.

*Honestly...this isn't what I was expecting. I ate 4 of them trying to decide if I like them, so I won't say they're bad, but they're quite savory and serious chocolate without being sweet. Actually, I think they're very much a Claire sort of cookie - she likes the savory, while I am the one with a sweet tooth.

Anyway, definitely more of a "nibble at during tea time, paired with some strawberries" than "dunk in your milk after school" cookie. Sophisticated, I think is what I mean. And also these strawberries are delicious. Mm.

*2.5/7 on the disaster index. Easy come, easy go.

*Daniel's assessment was that they are not undersweetened but a bit too dry. He recommends using low fat yoghurt instead of nonfat. I will try this.

"Coup D'Etat" review

I'm going to pretend that writing reviews of comic books is a perfectly acceptable way to spend a Sunday morning when I don't feel like doing anything else. Because obviously I spent the earlier part of the morning reading said comic books, so it must be okay. Right?

There's a lot going on here which is worthy of comment.

First of all, it's worth noting that this isn't just an Authority comic. It's sort of pan-universe (Wildstorm universe, if you care), so there's an Authority one, a "Sleeper" one, a "WildC.A.T.s Version 3.0", and one "Stormwatch: Team Achilles". I'm unfamiliar with Sleeper and Wildcats and I have only passing familiarity with Stormwatch (I read it up to the point where it spun off the Authority). So my opinion is coloured by that. You probably need some familiarity with the Authority to understand what's going on here.

As a bit of background, Stormwatch was originally a comic created by a bloke named Jim Lee, who eventually handed his pen off to Warren Ellis. Ellis took over, killed off half the main characters and instituted a number of his own, and eventually spun the best of them off into the Authority, killing off most of the remainder of Stormwatch in the meantime.

I cannot for the life of me summarize this. A bloke named Tao manipulates the US Government into blowing up an alien ship, the fallout from which destroys Florida. In return, the Authority takes over the US Government, killing the President as a "peace offering" to members of the alien race (called "The Vigil"). And then, instead of holding elections, they decide to build a better world.

In some ways, this seems clear-cut enough: the government gets a lot of people killed needlessly, so get a better government. Patrick Kent (the US President, a poorly veiled Bush[1]) is a jerk, so why not get rid of him? I'm sure no liberal could claim they'd never had this fantasy. And yet the Authority's manipulation of the general public and the Vigil (to whom they show a doctored up tape) makes them no better than those they've deposed, especially when they seem to easily defeat the Vigil when they begin their (inevitable retaliatory) attack. Instead of either drawing a clear line between good and evil, or showing both sides as equally noble and the issue as gray, Morrison, Brubaker, et al, paint everyone as corrupt, which makes the whole thing less amusing.

Additionally, I can't help but feel that taking over the US is almost too small of a task for the Authority, who at one point killed god and who have previously taken on the governments of Russia, China, and Indonesia without instituting themselves as a junta. What makes the US more important than everyone else? There's lingering tensions from the old Stormwatch days, sure (the US doesn't like superheros much), but that hardly seems to make it more important than anyone else.

Partially because of how the comic industry works, there seems to be a lot of time spent doing BIG story arcs which bring various characters together and examine their interactions. Unfortunately, these rarely develop any of the ideas to the point which the reader would like, focusing on quantity over quality. Coup D'Etat is ultimately the same: an intriguing premise, a lot of waffling in the middle, and ultimately a let-down. When Midnighter says, "Well, now what?" at the end, I'm not really temped to rush out and get the next one in the series to keep reading.

Positives: a little Midnigher/Apollo snarkage (a very little), plus Apollo gets a few lines to prove he's more than a handsome, brainless blond. A fair amount of Jack (being kind of broody, another throwback to Stormwatch). The art in 3 of the 4 books is good (Portacio, I'm looking at you. What the hell happened?)

Negatives: Plot too small for the characters. Art in the last one is terrible. A lot of the panels and dialog boxes are laid out in a way suggesting the person who laid them out had never read a comic before. Definitely in need of a tighter editorial process.

--
[1] Poorly veiled enough that using the word "veiled" seems rather ironic, honestly

Inscruitable Oriental Spice Morning Muffins

Based on an old recipe of my mother's. These are fantastic. Delicious, easy, and fast. I made them for breaky following a 12-mile run and they did not take an arm-chewingly long time to bake.

Ingredients

• 2 c. flour (I used "white whole wheat")
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp each cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and ginger
• 1 egg
• 1 really overripe banana, frozen, thawed, and mashed
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 2 T. margarine, melted
• 1 1/2 c. (skim) milk
• 1/4 c. each chopped dates and raisins
• dark chocolate chips to taste (I used a tablespoon or two - all I had left)

Methodology

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Nuke some water in a dish for 40 seconds, then add dates and raisins. Make sure they are covered (with water) and leave to soak.

2. Mix dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, spices). Add chocolate chips.

3. Mix wet ingredients (including sugar). Drain raisins and dates and add.

4. Mix dry into wet. Don't overmix.

5. Spoon into greased muffin tins, about 1/4 c. per tin. Bake ~20 minutes (mine went 18). Makes 12 puffy delicious muffins.

Notes

*0/7. Serve with butter and jam. Mmm.

*By my estimation, about 140 calories per muffin, depending on your margarine and the amount of chocolate chips you use. Compare that to ~400 calories/muffin when you buy them at the store. I win.

Warm Cabbage and Eggplant Salad

It seems disingenuous to claim that this recipe is somehow the same as this recipe, except in the sense of "based on" like Lifetime TV Movies are "based on" true events. So let's use the term "inspired by".

Ingredients

• 1/2 head napa cabbage (bai cai)
• 1/2 eggplant
• 1/2 onion
  
• 1/2 of a 28 oz. tin diced tomatoes
• 1 1/2 tsp. paprika
• basil, oregano, chili powder
• 2/3 c. rice
• 1 1/3 c. water
• 2-3 clove garlic
• a drizzle of garlic oil
  
• 1/2 cube bouillon

Methodology

1. Put rice, water, one clove of garlic and bouillon in a pot over low and leave it to simmer.

2. Put a drizzle of garlic oil in the bottom of a pot, then add onion, eggplant, and cabbage. Stir until it begins to be tender. (Keep an eye on the rice). Add garlic and cook another few minutes, then pour in the tomatoes. Cover and simmer for several more minutes, then add spices, plus salt and pepper to taste.

3. When everything is done, mix rice in.

Notes

*I didn't know how this would come out well at all. It was delicious, low cal, and made enough to serve 4 or 5. Hurrah.

*0/7.

Cabbage rolls

Recipe from the FatFree Vegan Kitchen.

Ingredients

• 1/3 napa cabbage
• 5 baby carrots
• 2 sheets nori seaweed (sushi type)
• 2 oz. baked tofu
  
• 1 T. soy sauce
• 1/2 T. black vinegar
• wasabi paste, to taste
• sushi rolling mat

Methodology

1. If you are starting with a head of cabbage, cut it in half, then cut one half into thirds. Take two of the thirds (2/6 or 1/3 of the entire cabbage) and put them in your steamer (it's helpful if you don't cut the bottoms off, so they're still connected). Cut the carrots into strips and add them to the steamer. Steam until tender, about 5 minutes. Put in refrigerator for 10 minutes or so. Cut tofu into long strips.

2. Get your equipment ready, by covering the sushi rolling mat with plastic wrap, etc. Mix the soy sauce, vinegar, and wasabi in a small bowl and set aside (for dipping later).

3. Put down a piece of nori and cover with the leaves of cabbage in a single layer, leaving about an inch free at one end. You will probably want to blot the cabbage with a paper towel before you put it down, as napa (bai cai) holds a lot of water. At the end towards you, about two inches in, make a row of carrot slices and baked tofu.

4. Roll the sushi tightly. If it doesn't seal, dip your fingers in water and moisten the end. Cut into sushi, as wide as you prefer your sushi to be.

Notes

*Tasted mostly like cabbage, but very good anyway. Next time perhaps I will try stir-frying or roasting the vegetables.

*Too much wasabi may give you stomach trouble. But it is delicious.

*1/7. Very easy, minimal clean up.

Rhubarb Berry Pie

A colleague gave me some fresh rhubarb, a plant I'd neither cooked with or tasted before. So what to do? Make pie!

Recipe from here.

Ingredients

• 2 deep dish pie crusts (we used Marie Calander's, because they were the only vegetarian ones at the store. If you're veg, make sure you read labels and don't buy the ones with lard in them.)
• 3 c. rhubarb, chopped (just the stalks; you don't need to peel them)
• 1/2 c. white sugar
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/2 c. flour
• 2 c. mixed frozen berries (you can thaw them in the microwave)
• a little milk (for brushing)

Methodology

1. Preheat oven to 425*. Put one pie tin on a baking sheet (if you want; this is really unnecessary and done to make putting it in the oven easier). Put the other out to thaw.

2. Mix rhubarb, sugar, spices, and flour. Thaw the berries in the microwave, cut up any really big ones, and mix them in until everything looks like pie mix (no loose flour, etc.).

3. Fill pie crust. Flatten the other pie crust and use it to cover the first; pinch edges and poke some holes in the top. Brush top with milk, sprinkle with sugar, and put in in oven for 1 hour. After ~30 minutes, take it out and cover the edges with tin foil.

Notes

*Delicious. 0/7.

Korean Vegetable Stir Fry with Pasta

A lot of the recipes I post here are things I've come up with knocking around in the kitchen with veggies to use up. This one is not only not mine, but almost entirely unaltered (well, a few changes, but not many). I'm posting it here mostly to help myself keep track of it, since it was delicious.

Original from the Fatfree Vegan Kitchen, found here.

Ingredients

• 1/4 box (2 servings) whole wheat pasta
• 2 oz. baked Thai-style tofu (it comes pre-made with peanut sauce on it) cut into bite-sized pieces.
  
• 1 T. dark soy sauce mixed with 2 tablespoons water
• ~1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 yellow summer squash and 1/2 zucchini, halved and sliced into half moons.
  
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• handful matchstick carrots
  
• one bok choy, chopped
  
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons gochujang
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1/2 teaspoon brown
  
• ~1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

Methodology

1. Start water boiling and cook the pasta. I broke it in half before I cooked it. Whatever, it's pasta. When it's done, drain and set aside.

2. Mix the red ingredients and set them in a dish with the tofu. When you're done chopping the veg, cook the tofu in a large pan until brown on one side, then flip. Add in most of the sauce. After a few more minutes, remove and set aside (you can put it with the pasta); not all of the sauce had boiled away yet.

3. Add the squash, onion, zucchini, and carrots to the pan and cook for a few minutes, until they start to soften. Add the rest of the veg plus the garlic and about 1/4 c. water and cook until everything is starting to soften and the bok choy is wilting a little. Mix the green ingredients and pour over the veg, then add in the pasta and the tofu and mix it all together, stirring until everything is heated.

4. Eat while reading The Corpse in the Koryo[1] by James Church. Get small flecks of gochujang paste on the pages. Feel this is somehow appropriate.

Notes

*Needs more tofu. I only used the one piece because it was left over from the week's salads, and everything else was frozen. The baked tofu came out quite nicely, though I think regular tofu would also have been fine.

*0/7 on the disaster scale. Delicious. Also not bad for the clean-up, despite the number of dishes used - the longer veg cook time gave me time to do the dishes mid-project.

*Excellent pre-race fuel.

*[1]: Fact for the day: the word Korea comes from the name Koryo, which in turn comes from Goryeo (Goguryeo), which was the most powerful of the 3 kingdoms which ruled the area we now call Korea in the 5th century CE. Koreans call their land Chosen, the land of morning calm. (How nice does that sound? I want to visit Korea now.)

*I picked up the gochujang paste at a little Korean grocery store (on South Park street). It was fairly cheap ($4.99 for a big tub) and it keeps forever; plus, I hadn't realized until I bought it that I'd been missing the taste. 很好吃！I totally recommend hanging around Asian groceries anyway, because they tend to be family-run (and so need support), and the food is often much cheaper than at big chain stores, plus it's not just Asian food that they sell. Also they sometimes have really neat stuff (this one had radish kim chi, so I bought some of that). So let me end this by encouraging you to check out your local Asian grocery store. Yay.

Of Brownies and Bribes

The first rule is, when you don't know how to do something, get a book from the library.

The second rule is, when that doesn't work, bribe one of your brothers until he does it.

This bribe took the form of brownies. I made them from a box because I'd heard that you could do this. I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit to having tried it, and more embarrassed that it worked.

Ingredients

• a box of brownie mix. I used Betty Crocker because it was the cheapest and lowest calorie. I never make brownies from mixes, so I don't really have a preferred brand or anything.
• about 12 oz diet Coke
• a pan, greased
  

Methodology

1. Preheat the oven as directed on the box.

2. Put the mix in a bowl. Add coke until it is mixed to the right consistency. Do not add eggs, oil, or water.

3. Put the brownies in a pan and bake according to the instructions on the box. This went so fast my oven didn't preheat completely, so it took about 30 minutes as opposed to the 25 the box suggested, so keep an eye on it.

Notes

*These are sweet, and not very brownie-like. They taste a lot like vegan chocolate pudding cake (a delicious treat which, if you have vegan friends and you have not tried it, I suggest you force them to make it for you, since they are obviously holding out on you). The sweetness may be a problem for some people. However, it doesn't taste like nutrisweet (or whatever Diet Coke is sweetened with these days), which is a plus.

*The caloric content is equal to whatever the unmade mix was, since Diet Coke has no calories to add. Mine was 1 brownie = 100 calories. This was great to know, because I ate about 5.

*Did I mention I was really hungry after aikido for some reason?

*My youngest brother, for whom the bribe was prepared, seemed to like it, though he only ate two. I served it with whipped cream - maybe better with vanilla ice cream or frozen yoghurt?

*Anyway, 1/7 on the disaster index, losing a point for not actually being brownies. I wouldn't, for example, bring them to a pot luck if I were trying to maintain my reputation. But delicious to have at home.

Sushi Weekend

Last Saturday, with Claire in Minnesota, my brothers and I decided to have a night in. So I decided to try making sushi.

Recipes adapted from sushiday.com, a fantastic site for all your sushi needs.

Ingredients

• 2 c. Japanese sushi rice
• 2 c. water
• 8 T. rice vinegar
• 7 T (minus 1 tsp.) sugar
• 6 sheets sushi nori
• 1/2 avocado
• 1/2 cucumber, cut into strips
  
• 1/2 red bell pepper, cut into strips
  
• some neufchatel or cream cheese
• mung bean sprouts
• matchstick carrots
• Sushi rolling mat

Methodology

1. Cook the rice in the water. Mix the vinegar and sugar and microwave or heat on the stove until the sugar is dissolved. When rice is cooked, spread it in pans (we used pie plates) to cool and pour the vinegar/sugar mixture over it. You can stick it in the fridge if you want.

2. Put the nori on the rolling mat and place a little more than 1/2 c. of rice on the nori. Spread it out in a thin layer, leaving about a 1" strip of seaweed uncovered at the far end. At the end near you, place your selected fillings on the rice - combinations include pepper and cream cheese; avocado and cucumber; avocado, cucumber, and cream cheese; cucumber and cream cheese; mung bean sprout and carrot...you get the idea.

3. Roll the sushi away from you using the mat. Cut it into pieces. Eat it with soy sauce and wasabi.

Notes

*Mung bean sprout and carrot was the least successful combination. But they all got eaten. In fact, all the sushi was eaten, though my feeling was that this was just enough sushi for 3 people.

*This looks intimidating, but it's actually really easy.

*1/7 on the disaster scale (points docked for the absurd amount of leftovers I had to deal with afterwards - not leftover sushi, just leftover avocado, pepper, cucumber, and what have you. I am a little nonplussed about that.)

Vegetable and White Bean Soup, or As You Like It

A typical sort of end-of-the-week soup.

Ingredients

• 1 head broccoli, chopped into florets, stem peeled and chopped
• 1 summer squash, halved and chopped
• 1/2 sweet potato, chopped
• a handful of baby carrots, chopped
  
• 1/4 green bell pepper, chopped
• 4 mushrooms (crimini), halved and sliced or quartered
• 1 15-oz. tin canellini beans, drained and rinsed
  
• 2.25 bouillon cubes
• ~4 c. water
• 1.5 tsp garam marsala
• about 1 tsp chopped garlic
  
• chili powder and cayenne pepper, salt and pepper
  

Methodology

1. Put water in a pot with bouillon and some garlic. Bring water to a boil and put in sweet potato, broccoli, and carrots. Let them boil until somewhat tender and add beans, mushrooms, bell pepper, and squash.

2. Add seasoning and taste. When sweet potatoes are cooked, the whole thing is pretty much done. Serve with toast.

Notes

*Eating this directly after a 6-mile run, I was so hungry I burned my tongue. The soup was good, but nothing fantastic - certainly not really anything to blog about. But today, eating the leftovers for lunch, I find that it has become a fantastic, spicy dish. The beans start to disintegrate and thicken the broth. So I recommend making this a day ahead. Also it uses a minimal number of pots and there's not much clean-up. Hurrah.

*Can probably be done with whatever veg you have lying around - I'd recommend bak choi, maybe some spinach. Tomatoes might be nice, too. I didn't have any.

*3/7 on the disaster scale.

Sweet "Asian" Salad Dressing Mk. II

A variation of this. It actually seems dumb to call this Asian Salad Dressing because I've never really had salad in Asia (exception: Thai papaya salad). Though I did frequent one restaurant which occasionally made stir-fried lettuce. Hm.

Ingredients

• 1 T. soy sauce
• 1/2 T. kecap manis
• 2 T. rice vinegar
• a few blobs of Sri Racha sauce
• 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
• a sprinkling of dried ginger

Methodology

1. Put ingredients in a jar. Cap jar and shake. Serve over salad.

Chinese Peanut Noodles with Gingered Vegetables

I've had China on my mind lately. (Claire pointed out that I always have China on my mind, so perhaps it would be more accurate to say I've had Chinese food on my mind.) This recipe isn't really Chinese, or at least it's not like anything I had in China, but it is delicious. Get your mates to help you cut stuff up, because it takes forever.

Adapted from here.

Ingredients

Peanut Sauce:

• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
  
• 2 to 3 tbsp stock
• 2 tbsp peanut butter
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• ½ tsp chili oil

Noodles recipe:

• 1 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
• 8 ounces broccoli, tops cut into florets, stems peeled, cut into
  thin strips
• a bunch of small carrots cut into matchsticks
  
• 1/2 onion
• 1/2 medium zucchini
• 1/ medium size summer squash
  
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 2 tablespoons Chinese cooking wine
  
• 10 ounces Chinese tofu
  
• ~ 8 oz. buckwheat noodles (soba, e.g.)
• 1 cup lightly salted roasted peanuts

Tofu marinade

• 1 T. soy sauce
• 2 T. water
• 1/2 T. garlic oil

Methodology

1. Make tofu marinade in shallow dish. Blot tofu dry, slice into 1/2" thick "steaks" and put in marinade. Set aside. Make peanut sauce and set aside. Put water on to boil. Chop veggies.

2. Cook the tofu until brown, then flip and brown the other side. Set aside, retaining marinade. Put the ginger in the wok with about 1 T. of sesame oil. After a few minutes, add the broccoli and carrots and stir fry until almost cooked. Add the other veg, the cooking wine, and the tofu marinade. When cooked, add the tofu and stir until everything is warm. Cook pasta.

3. Drain pasta and put in a bowl. Mix in the peanut sauce, then put the veg on top. Top with peanuts.

Notes

*There wasn't really enough ginger in this, despite the fact that I cut up too much. Maybe it needs to be sliced smaller? I guess I chopped it kind of roughly. But the peanut sauce was extremely delicious and made up for the lack of ginger.

*It could use more chili oil or maybe some hot pepper. Something to give it a little more of a kick.

*2/7. Also it used a lot of dishes. Oh man.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

Good for the vegetarians, too...bless them... (Gordon Ramsay)

I came home from work an hour later than usual. The cats were in a strop, and I'd missed my afternoon snack, so I was about ready to kill something with my bare hands for sustenance. Plus it was a lovely day out, and a very primal part of my brain was insisting that I should go out for a jog right the hell now.

What can you make in a hurry which is also very delicious? Broccoli soup! Recipe from Gordan Ramsey[1].

Ingredients

• 2 small heads of broccoli, chopped into florets
• 1 small baby bok choy, chopped
• water
• seasoning to taste (salt, pepper, cumin, garlic powder)

Methodology

1. Boil water. Put in broccoli and bok choy, season, and boil for about 4-5 minutes.

2. When tender, put in the blender or cuisinart with a cup or two of the water you boiled it in and blend until smooth. Add more seasonings (about 1-2 tsp salt and pepper, 1/2 T garlic powder, a bit of cumin).

3. Serve with a little cheese grated on top - I used Irish Kerrygold "Dubliner" cheese, but cheddar would also be nice.

Notes

1. Gordon Ramsey has recently been in the news (well, on food blogs) because he has a new cookbook (he's been on some chat shows of late), and a show on Fox where he yells at stupid people. I haven't watched the show, but I'm in favour of yelling at stupid people. So apparently he used to have a show in the UK called "Gordon Ramsay Makes it Simple", which involved less yelling and more being adorable (see here). Anyway, I found the video of the soup on YouTube and had to try it.

2. It worked well, was super fast (I was out the door for my run by 19:00) and quite delicious. Serve with bread. 0/7.

3. Here's another Ramsay article, in case you are interested in him like I apparently am.

ETA:

4. Do not put curry powder in this dish, no matter how cool you happen to think curried broccoli soup might be. It's not a good idea.

Thai-style Ichiro's Rice

Who was Ichiro? My hypotheses aside, the rice dish that bears his name is an excellent way to use up leftover rice. And since I wanted curry, I changed it up a little bit.

Ingredients

• 6 oz. tofu, marinated and cooked
• 1 baby bok choy
• 1 sweet potato
• 1/2 summer squash
• 2 dried crimini mushrooms
• 2 cloves of garlic
• a trickle of oil
• 1 tin coconut milk (I used "lowfat organic", but I recommend the one that says "nuoc cot dua" or "coconut cream" for maximum goodness)
• 4 tsp. red Thai curry paste
• about 1 T. brown sugar
• about 1 T. of the marinade from the tofu (see above)
• leftover brown rice, about 3/4 c. (or however much you have)
• a sprinkling of ginger and cumin
  

Methodology

1. Heat garlic and mushrooms in a deep pan with oil (maybe a tablespoon or two, not much). When they sizzle, add the curry paste and the coconut milk. Heat until it boils, then add the veggies. Cover, stirring occasionally.

2. When the sweet potato is cooked, add in the brown sugar, the rice, and a bit of the marinade. You may also want to add some salt. Cut the "steaks" of tofu into bite-sized pieces and add those, too.

3. When everything is warm, taste and add a sprinkling of ginger and cumin. You may want to add more sugar or salt as well. It's done! Enjoy!

Notes

*I recommend serving with Sri Racha sauce and sweet chili sauce on top. If you use the lowfat coconut milk, this has very few calories. Actually, it probably doesn't have that many even if you use coconut cream. So go all out.

*0/7. This was delicious, and an excellent way to use some vegetables.

Thai-style Tofu Marinade

Recipe adapted from the Chicago Sun-Times, so probably not the most Thai thing ever.

Ingredients
(quantities approximate for some stuff)

• 1/4 c. warm water
• 1 T. sesame oil
• 1 T. dark soy sauce
• 1/2 T. brown sugar
• ~1/2 tsp. Sri Racha sauce
• ~1/2 tsp. cumin
• ~1/2 tsp. corriander
• ~1 clove garlic, chopped
• ~1 tsp. lemon juice

Methodology

1. Mix everything together.

2. Cut tofu into "steaks" approximately 1/2" thick and put in marinade. Leave in the refrigerator until time to cook.

3. Cook and use in whatever dish. I recommend browning them over high heat in a not-too-oily pan.

Notes

*I liked the tone the sesame oil gave it. Needs to be stronger. 3/7.

Cold Sesame Noodles with Kimchi

There are no two ways about it, my friend: kimchi is delicious. I bought some at the co-op the other day (they had vegetarian kimchi, so it didn't have nuoc mam [fish sauce] in it, which makes it more delicious) and I was trying to think of ways to use it. Then I remembered I wanted to make this recipe I found on Serious Eats.

Ingredients

• 1 "bundle" soba (Japanese buckwheat noodles)
  
• 1 1/2 cups kimchi
  
• 1 tablespoon kimchi juice from the jar
  
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons toasted black sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
  

Methodology

1. Boil water. While that's going on, mix the sugar and vinegar in a bowl. Measure out the kimchi and slice it up if it isn't already sliced; add kimchi and juice and mix.

2. Cook pasta as directed, about 4-5 minutes. Drain and run briefly under cold water, then add to bowl. Add the sesame oil and mix.

3. Eat! I topped it with Thai sweet chili sauce.

Notes

*Delicious. This is definitely a great batch of kimchi. Very easy to make, too, and pretty low calorie. The pasta is 210, the kimchi is about 100 total, so figure about 200 per serving. Serves 2.

*0/7 on the disaster index. The only difficult part was opening the jar of kimchi.