Happy Tofurky Day!

     
     This Thanksgiving, we will once again stuff our faces with Tofurky and all the trimmings. I know what you're thinking but seriously...Tofurky doesn't have to be gross and tasteless. I think mine is pretty fracken tasty! There could be different variations to this recipe, you may want to choose different vegetables. I find root vegetables work best but I have used zucchini before, which was just as good. This time I decided to use parsnips and carrots. This is best served with a bunch of awesome sides and some good wine!

** Don't forget to thaw your Tofurky roast 24 hours before you cook it...trust me, it's totally worth it!

*** Preheat your oven to 350 F

Ingredients                                                            

1 Tofurky roast
1 clove of garlic
1 onion (medium)
3 parsnips
3 carrots
1 tomato
1 tbs crushed pepper sauce (optional)
1/2 bottle of beer (or 1/2 cup of white wine)
rosemary
olive oil
water
salt 



1.  First, cut up the onion lengthwise and finely chop the garlic.
 

2. Now, dice the tomato and cut up the rest of the veggies however you want.

3. Heat a thin layer of olive oil in a pan, over medium heat and add garlic. Make sure not to burn the garlic (it becomes bitter) and add the onion. Sautee until onions become transparent, add diced tomato and 1/3 cup of water, let simmer for a few minutes.

4. Once it has simmered a bit, add the crushed pepper sauce (optional), beer (or wine) and salt. Let simmer for about 10 minutes and keep adding water if it evaporates.

5. Meanwhile, unwrap the Tofurky from it's casing. This is where the thawing comes in handy. If still frozen, not only does it take 3 hours to cook, but it is extremely difficult to peel off the plastic casing, whereas if it's thawed, it takes 1 hr 25 min to cook and the casing comes off very easily.

6. Place the Tofurky in a roast pan and surround it with chopped carrots and parsnips, pour pan mixture onto and around the roast and sprinkle rosemary everywhere..the more the better!

* You can use whichever herbs you like, I'm of the belief that you can never have enough rosemary :)

7. Cover with tin foil and cook for 1hr 25min. Uncover for the last 10-15 minutes. Put the oven on "broil" for the last 5 minutes until golden brown, but keep your eye on it or it will burn!
    
*While cooking: You will have to periodically get in there and baste the roast with the liquid around it. You don't need a baster, I used a large spoon.
*While cooking: You will also need to periodically add water when it gets too dry

8. Stuff face

9. Fall asleep

That's all folks :)
-Sara

Strippers, Divorces and Psychos, Oh my!

    In case you missed last week, everyone now knows that Kate is Trey's mother, this happened after a pretty emotional segment between Kate and Trey in which Kate realizes he is her son, spawning an emergence of Connie, who then laced into the poor fella. She even went as far as telling him she wanted an abortion...I actually felt bad for the little guy. Kate rips off his initialed necklace, which is later found by Sonny. While people like Maxie, who is planning her wedding, suspect something is wrong with Kate/Connie, Connie is doing a good job at hiding she's back.

Sam and Jason aren't doing very well...especially after Sam walked in on Jason and that blasted Elizabeth Webber kissing!...Jason later rejected Elizabeth but the damage was done and Sam signed the divorce papers.

      This week being Jason and Sam's anniversary, they run into each other at the Chinese restaurant where it all happened. Of course, the owner insists on cooking them an anniversary feast. Sam and Jason try to get out of it but seeing as how the Chinese grandmother is terminally ill, it would be rude not to...Soap opera etiquette, ever heard of it?! And so...as they all remember and reminisce and stare into each others eyes and even share a kiss, I cry over my chai latte. Jason then sees the divorce papers in Sams hand, and gets called away by Spinelli.

Meanwhile Spinelli and Mcbain are getting closer and closer do finding Sam's baby, they have even tracked it to Landview, where the insane Heather Webber is babysitting for Tea Delgado! Mcbain shows up in Landview, visits Tea and even manages to get an oral swab from the baby while nobody is looking! Mcbain gets back to Port Charles and hands Jason the swab....and he runs straight to Elizabeth to help him. BIG FUCKING MISTAKE!!! will she do the right thing?...nope, she didn't! Sam's DNA doesn't match the baby's

      Christina informs Sonny and Alexis that she and Trey have no intention of getting an annulment. Trey then walks in and professes his genuine love for her. Can I just say, I love the dynamic between Sonny and Alexis. I think they're hilarious and have great chemistry!

      Johnny threatens Todd, Todd threatens Johnny, Connie threatens both of them, Todd double crosses Johnny.

      Meanwhile...Patrick is getting ready for his date with that bitchy new MD, Brit the vegetarian, as the cute nurse Sabrina shows up to babysit Emma...who gets more adorable everyday, even though she's being quite belligerent with Sabrina!

We see right off the bat just how jealous and crazy Brit is when she answers Patricks phone while he's not at the table, and hangs up on Sabrina. I for one already can't stand her, which is probably the goal, so they're doing a good job of that! Thankfully, she calls him a second time and Patrick runs home to be with his daughter.

The next day Brit walks in on Dr. Drake telling Sabrina what a great job she did with Emma, and obviously has to stick her nose in..it works because Patrick asks her out again and Sabrina asks Patrick to babysit again...Dr. bitch is not happy about that and shows her true colors once Patrick leaves the room...as usual.

Jacks and Carly sign divorce papers..bitter sweetly

      Party time!!!!! Kate's bachelorette party is in full force! Poor poor Maxie...she worked so hard and can't do anything right, where are the strippers?? All the who's who of the Port Charles ladies are at the Floating Rib to celebrate including Elizabeth who keeps eyeball fucking poor Sam...I'm really starting to dislike her but i guess turning her into a villain was inevitable. They do all kinds of shots and get shit faced, everyone notices that “Kate” is acting very unlike herself....and she wants a stripper! Lulu decides Milo is the perfect man for the job ;)...Magic Milo, that is! After a little coaching from Lulu, he starts to get the hang of it.

The ladies douse him with beer and stick singles down his pants, Kate/Connie even licks whipped cream off his chest....honestly it looked fun as hell and Milo looked pretty hot! ...aaaaand then Connie had to go and ruin it. She follows a naked Milo into the back and tries to jump his bones...Olivia catches her in the act but Connie convinces her its another hallucination. Milo runs away.

Meanwhile Elizabeth very loudly explains to Lulu how Jason kissed her and shes the one that stopped him, which is a big fat lie. As intended by Elizabeth, Sam hears everything....I really hope good ol' Liz gets whats coming to her, namely, a punch in the teeth!

Finally, Kate is so happy with the job Maxie did that she re hires her at Crimson. Elated, Maxie decides she is going to see Spinelli.

      Meanwhile at Sonny's bachelor party, no fun is being had by anybody. What a bunch of geeks! They all decide to play poker and talk about their feeeeeelings...seriously?! Trey shows up to join in the fun. Sonny takes Trey into the back room, shows him the necklace and tells him he knows Scully is his father. Sonny then threatens Trey to leave Christina.

Spinelli tries to convince Jason that even though the DNA sample came back negative, he still believes Sam's baby is alive. To prove it he calls over his laboratory love interest who he seems pretty into..she even talks like him.

Max tells Milo to keep the Kate incident from Sonny, if he wants to live, and Sonny shows up at the floating rib after all the girls have left. He walks through the bar, studying the decor in awe. I think Sonny is realizing that Kate would never choose a zebra print theme...this is classic Connie.

      So much is happening lately on GH, every episode is full of twists and action. Love the new writing! Until next week, Port Charles.

Sara :p

5 Step Chunky Monkey Muffins

     So, as usual, I bought a bunch of bananas and a couple of days later they were too soft to eat. I'm sick of wasting money so I decided to bake something as I watched my 6 hour marathon of General Hospital (Summary to come). The following is my recipe for 5 Step Chunky Monkey Muffins. 

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups  flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large / 3 medium) *
1 large egg

1/2 cup  butter or margarine, melted
1/4 cup vanilla soy milk **

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips ***

  

   * When mashing banana, leave it a little lumpy.

 **  you can also use regular milk then add 1 tsp of

       vanilla extract     

*** I used milk chocolate chips which made them very 

       sweet. I suggest semisweet if your sweet tooth isn't 

       as hungry as my boyfriend's

 

• Preheat oven to 350 F - Makes 12 muffins

 

 

 

 

Step 1: Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in large bowl.

 

 

Step 2: Mix mashed bananas, egg, melted butter and milk in medium bowl.

 

Step 3: Stir banana mixture into dry ingredients just until blended, do not over-mix.

 

 

Step 4:  Stir in chocolate chips.

 

 

Step 5:  Divide batter among  muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full, that way you will get nice looking muffins instead of tiny half-full muffins.

 

 

 

 Bake until tops are pale golden. You can insert a toothpick into the center of one of the muffins. It should come out with some melted chocolate on it but no batter or crrumbs, about 25  minutes.

 

 

And there you go!! Delicious muffins in 5 easy steps...just add a large cup of coffee and 6 hours of soaps and you've got the perfect Friday afternoon :)

 

 

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Sara

   

Party Worms

This week, I have no awesome soap summaries for you because I was too busy throwing a wicked girls night....so instead, I'm reviewing a party idea I originally found on Pinterest, Vodka Gummy Worms!

      I had read that gummy worms, as opposed to gummy bears, were the better option because they don't swell too much and keep their consistency relatively well. So, I bought a tub of gummy worms and got to work.

     It turned out I had half a bottle of vodka in the freezer, left over from my last drunken debacle with my dear friend India...one which included dancing to 1994's "Saturday Night" by Whigfield. Any vodka will do, but you may want to opt for one of higher quality and smoother taste.

     Transfer the worms into a tupperware, and pour in the vodka until the worms are completely covered. I found that half a bottle was exactly enough.

     The original recipe I had read told me to keep the worms soaked in the fridge for two days...THIS WAS WAY TOO LONG...and as a result, the worms were extremely strong, which isn't a bad thing, don't get me wrong...but they tasted too strong too, which was unpleasant. I would soak them instead for maybe a day, turning them over once in between.      
     So, that's it, cover the tupperware and stick them in the fridge...yep, riiight beside your vegetables. Once you feel they've been soaking long enough, drain them in a colander and put them back in the fridge to dry off....I know what your thinking..what a waste of vodka. I guess you could drink the leftover vodka but it would probably be like a "drink the bong water" type thing.

     While I really loved this idea, and thought it was a great alternative to the usual jell-o shots I make, I do have some criticisms...but none that can't be improved! So the first, is the whole "soak for two days" which I addressed in the above paragraph. One day, tops...unless you want visions of gummy worms dancing in your toilet bowl! 
     Second, when I took the worms out of the vodka, the worms were pretty slimy and soft, but this could be due to the fact that I had them soaking for 2 days! Once I put them back in the fridge they dried off and hardened a bit. 

     There you have it, folks! A way adults can still enjoy the childhood favorite gummy worm! um....you may want to keep these very far away from a child's reach!...or a cat's...whichever.

Sara ;)

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All Hell Breaks Loose in Port Charles, Who Will Survive the Deadly Pathogen??

     What a GREAT week on GH! As time runs out to find the antidote which will save the entire city, all hell breaks loose in Port Charles. As more and more people become infected by the pathogen Jerry put in the water, this week was chock- full of declarations of love, murder, death, violence, goose bump inducing musical moments, shootouts, bombs and all that good stuff! This one's a long one folks, you will see why!

- The End of the Pathogen

     If we didn't know it already, this week showed us just how ruthless, sarcastic and deliciously evil Todd Manning is. First off, he was more than willing to feed Alexis to the wolves in order to get the anti serum, but Jerry was taking Alexis with him either way. While Alexis, Jerry, Sonny, Johnny, Carly, Todd and Jacks naively negotiate in the warehouse, a pretty cool gunfight ensues outside between Mcbain, Sonny and Shaun vs Jerry's armed guards. While the shootout looks pretty low budget, I do appreciate GH venturing out of the usual sets and giving us a real drama!

      

     After a struggle with Jerry, his gun goes off and were left to wonder who got shot (don't you just love those!!) We later learn it was Johnny who got shot. Jerry takes off with Alexis as a hostage while an ailing Sonny and Jacks go after him and Carly tries to stop the bleeding, asking Todd to take care of Johnny while she gets the car. Todd takes care of him alright and tries to smother Johnny but is interrupted by Lulu, who shows up out of nowhere to find Dante. As Carly screeches back in an unmarked car which is so clearly a BMW, Lulu runs off to find Dante, and Johnny is taken to hospital by Carly and a reluctant Todd who is pissed off because Johnny bled all over his designer jacket....funniest segment of the week!

      Meanwhile, Dante and Mcbain figure out the combination to the suitcase containing the serum (it was the dead man's hand...duh!) however, opening it detonated a bomb. Lulu finds them on hold with the bomb squad with 23 minutes left!...on hold!? really?!?

     By the dock, Sonny and Jacks rescue Alexis. Sonny then collapses as Jacks catches up to Jerry who confesses he is dying of radiation poisoning. Jacks knocks the detonator from Jerry's hand, and Jerry as well as a canister of gas is shot by Sonny, who crawled his way to save Jacks.. (I know, right?!), Jerry shoots and lights the gasoline on fire (oh boy)...

     Dante and Lulu run for cover while Mcbain altruistically decides to try and deactivate the bomb himself and snips the red wire (on account of his wife's red hair), Alexis and Shaun make out, and we see the bright light of an explosion. We are left to wonder if it was the boat or the bomb that exploded.

Over in GH Steve Webber ends up stabilizing Johnny who is desperately trying to confess everything to Carly but never gets a chance!

     Later we discover that Mcbain succeeded in defusing the bomb and it was Jerry's boat that blew up, Sonny is alright and in hospital reunited with Kate who just happened to save Olivia from an LSD induced hallucination on the roof. Jerry and Jacks are nowhere to be found.

     While Molly relentlessly grills Sam about Mcbain and Jason...I know, so annoying..Shaun and Alexis show up and are reunited with their children.

Cheers come from everyone in the hospital. The antidote has been found in the suitcase and is LEGIT!! Molly and TJ receive a text message regarding the antidote, and Mcbain shows up at the door to see Sam and deliver the news about Jacks to Alexis.

    The fear is lifted from Port Charles and everyone will be cured through the water, just as they were poisoned...but not without collateral damage. Jacks is still missing and presumed dead, as is Jerry, Cook is also dead. Sonny and Kate decide to get married as soon as possible and kiss in the rain, as do Steve and Olivia. Sam and Mcbain share a moment...again, and hold hands...Dante and Lulu do it in the shower. Shaun, Alexis and the two kids also share a moment...involving super soakers. Jason and Elizabeth also share a tender moment. This marks the end of the crisis.

- The Aftermath of the Antidote

     The sleepy eyed town of Port Charles slowly recovers and things start returning back to normal..or do they?!

     Joe Scully attempts to evade Sonny by having sex with Tracy (who doesn't even know his name) in an exam room, while Sam gives Trey shit for marrying Christina in Vegas. Christina explains they will be getting an annulment ( not according to Trey and Joe Scully). Sonny is royally pissed when he finds out, and demands to meet his father, but his reaction is nothing compared to Alexis' reaction (Wait until they find out who Trey really is!) Meanwhile Star confronts Joe about his past with Sonny, and Sonny storms off to have a “chat” with Trey....Will Joe and Sonny cross paths??!

     Spinelli visits Maxie and declares if he can't have her love then he refuses her like, he then goes to GH to help Jason figure out the abduction of his baby. Through his usual unbelievable computer magic, Spinelli discovers that Sams baby has frozen tissue stored in GH. He finds a pretty young researcher in the lab, explains the situation and asks for her help

     Jacks shows up alive and well. Honestly, he spent the entire night in the water on a piece of debris?!...ok, if they say so.

     Sam struggles with signing the divorce papers, remembering the tender moment she shared with Jason at the hospital the night before. Meanwhile, Jason is discharged early for his birthday and Elizabeth drives him to his apartment where she has set up balloons and birthday decorations. Elizabeth is ready to confess her feelings.

     Back at GH, Todd tries smothering Johnny again, this time with a pillow, but has a change of heart and threatens him to keep his mouth shut instead. They both agree that Jacks, who knows Johnny is hiding something, is a problem for both of them.

     Over in Landview, Heather (or Susan) is giving us a whole new dose of crazy when she shows up at Tea Delgado's house and offers to be Victor's babysitter. I thought she was going to take off with him...I guess that was a little too sane for her!

     So, there you have it! The pathogen crisis is over with only a couple of casualties. Honestly, this week had me at the edge of my white, country style arrow back chair. This has been one of the best plots I have seen in a while on GH, I can't wait to see what else the writers have in store!

Coming up - Spoilers & Rumours

Port Charles & Salem can Rest Easy, I'm Back!

     Wow, THAT was a long hiatus. After a long semester and a death in the family, I was behind on my beloved stories by 2 months! How did I do it? you ask, or maybe not...I read 6 Sookie Stackhouse books in 6 weeks. I don't think I've read that many books in my 28 years on this planet, but it definitely filled my craving for fictional drama, schemes and revenge... the operative word being "fictional", goddess knows I've had my fill of non-fictional. Anywho, here we go!




DOOL: September 10th - 14th

     In an interesting plot twist, Nick Fallon is released from prison, with the help of none other than Melanie's testimony vouching for him. What Melanie didn't know when she made this ridiculous decision was that Nick's release was conditional on him remaining in Salem! (Of course! did you really expect anything else?)
     For those of you too young or too old to remember Nick Fallon, he is in fact a Horton, who did time for the murder of Trent Robbins (Melanie's father), which he later pinned on Melanie after stalking and kidnapping her. Don't get me wrong, the guy deserved to die after the rotten things he did, and considering the habitual blind eye of the Salem PD, the possibility if Nick getting away with this was present especially taking into account his drugs and alcohol dependence, but he didn't, and did what I calculated was 3 real years in the big house.

     Wow! if only real convicts fresh out could integrate as quickly and easily as Nick did! Not only did Saint Maggie (his aunt) agree to take him in, but good ol' Caroline Brady even gave him a job as a dishwasher at the Brady Pub!
*I get that Maggie identifies with virtually every addict and alcoholic Salem has to offer, but did she really think taking Nick in was a good idea?! So, obviously , Melanie (who happens to be Maggie's granddaughter) finds out about these new living arrangements when she rushes over to Maggie's with the not so welcomed news of her and Chad's engagement. She sees him, drops and shatters a glass of water, tells him to get away from her, listens to Maggie's explanation and scurry's off in that cute Melanie nervous rambling way.

     Chad being a Dimera and all, nobody seems very receptive to Melanie's engagement announcement (gee I can't figure out why..), especially not her father, the steamy Dr. Daniel Jonas, who is having his own problems at the moment in the form of an obsessed pregnant Nicole, who asks the good doc to be her baby's godfather (he obviously says yes) and a confused Jennifer, who is working at the hospital again. To make things worse, Melanie asks Gabi, who Chad warned to stay away from Melanie, almost having killed her and all, to be her brides maid and Abigail, who this week has undressed, thrown herself on Cameron and changed her mind 3 times until Cameron finally dumped her and she declared to her mother and the DOOL universe that she is a virgin, to be her maid of honor.
* I get that Abigail is going through a lot right now with the death of her father, Jack Devereaux, but isn't she a bit old for the whole "rebellious hate my mother" phase? Also...Virgin..they're really doing this to her?

Oh dear Sami...STOP KISSING PEOPLE! After a few episodes of hostile, sexually tenuous, back and forth with Rafe, They finally make out at the very moment Sami is getting ready for her date with EJ...yup, you heard right, date with EJ...and SHE asked HIM out! In her defense, he did look exceptionally foxy this week, and acted like a totally different person!...what the hell is he up to!?

     Meanwhile, in the best gay couple plot I've seen since ATWT, Will discovers from Tad (yes the bigot, homophobic closet case), that Sonny has feelings for him. This tidbit put a huge smile on his handsome face as he rushed to confront Sonny about this new information... I smell a groundbreaking gay love scene..oh god that sounded bad, but seriously, hopefully this relationship will be pursued! 

    These are the most important highlights (In my lowly opinion, of course!). I enjoyed watching this weeks episodes which leave us wondering, is Nick Fallon really reformed? I think he will fool everyone for a while until he shows his true colors. But what do I know! maybe he will become Salem's model citizen...but who are we kidding!? this is a Soap after all!

**Tickle of the week**

- Nicole wants to call her baby "Daniel Rafael Hernandez" I found this kinda funny, if that's not a dead giveaway to EJ, I don't know what is! Still, you gotta love Nicole's tenacity 

- DOOL Meme of the week:

 

Coming up, GH September 10th - 14th
                     Rumored spoilers 
 



    

   

Missed an Episode??

My hiatus will soon be over, once I'm done this torturous semester! Meanwhile, check out my favourite youtube channel and catch up on your GH episodes. They are uploaded in record time and are great quality!
http://www.youtube.com/user/SimplyGH

Thanks, SimplyGH!