Costa Rican Vinagre Chilera Recipe

The only thing that appears on a Tico table more frequently than Salsa Lizano is Chilera (you'll have to ask for salt and pepper outside of tourist restaurants). Our friend Roman taught us how to make it over the course of few weeks at his coffee farm in San Francisco. This is my personal favorite recipe to make (tamales are my favorite to eat).

El Vinagre Chilera Recipe
1 bunch of bananas (15-20 lbs)
2 heaping handfuls of the hottest chili peppers you can find
6 large carrots
4 large onions
2 large yellow or orange sweet peppers
1 head of cauliflower
½ lb (250 gr.) green beans
one or two 750 ml guaro, or similar clear, glass, small neck bottles and half a dozen 300 ml small neck glass bottles.

Technically, what you pick up at the supermarket is called a hand of bananas. Bunches are the whole stalk and weigh in at 15-75 pounds. To make banana vinegar, hang the bunch in the sun with a bucket below. After a day or two, they'll start "cooking". Over three to five days, the peels will be reduced to black shells and the bucket will fill with sweet thin syrup.

Transfer the syrup to the glass bottles and stopper loosely (the fermentation will shatter the bottles if they are corked tightly). Stand in a cool shaded location to ferment for about a week. This is a "sour dough" type of fermentation, using whatever collection of microbes happens to have dropped into the bucket while you were collecting the banana juice. When the bubbling stops, move the bottles back into the sun for a few days to UV sterilize the contents.

Chop the vegetables so they just fit through the neck of the small bottles. Loosely pack each bottle full of hot peppers and vegetables then fill with the banana vinegar and cap. Store in a cool place for at least two weeks before using.

Salvadorean Pupusas With A Side Of Slaw And Tomato Dipping Sauce

A pupusa is a stuffed corn-tortilla, usually served with a spicy coleslaw called curtido. This recipe makes both. Pupusas originated in El Salvador, but imigrants have taken the dish to other Central American countries and beyond. Pupuserías, places where pupusas are sold and/or eaten.

Pupusas are hand-made and thick. Like all corn tortillas, they are made using corn masa. They are stuffed with one or more of the following:

* cheese (queso) (usually a soft Salvadoran cheese called Quesillo)
* fried pork rind (chicharrones)
* chicken (pollo)
* refried beans (frijoles refritos)
* queso y Loroco (loroco is a shrub flower bud from Central America)

There is also the pupusa revueltas (with mixed ingredients of cheese, pork, and beans). Pupusas are usually served with curtido and tomato sauce. They are eaten with the fingers.

Preparing the dough

There are different brands of corn masa to make the dough. MASECA, which can be found in most large American supermarkets in the international section, is one of them but there are others. Follow the instructions on the bag for making tortilla dough, and make as much dough as needed. (One pupusa uses about as much dough as two tortillas.) Once the dough has been prepared, set it aside while you prepare the filling.

1 cup water

2 cups masa harina

Three Fillings
 

Cheese

* 3 cups of shredded cheese (use hard and cream cheese mixed together; you can mix frying cheese, mozzarella and ricotta
* 3 or 4 tablespoons of heavy cream
* 1/2 to 1 cup of Loroco (this will be hard to find in the U.S. So you can use very finely chopped green peppers or scallions instead)
* salt to taste
o Or to avoid all these complications, try find a specialty store and buy queso con loroco( you won't get the authentic flavor from a pupusa if you use American ingredients)

Make a paste with these ingredients. To avoid the paste leaking, it should not be too soft.

Chicharron (Pork Rind Filling) [YEA!]

* 1 cup cooked bacon (cooked with garlic, see below).
* 4 - 5 tomatoes
* 1 green pepper
* Salt to add taste.

Cook bacon with some garlic (optional). Set fat aside but do not discard. Once cooked, grind bacon with the tomatoes, 1 green pepper, and salt to taste. Mix with some of the bacon fat until it has a soft consistency
[edit] Revueltas

Ground and fried beans (they can be canned or prepared from your favorite recipe).

When filling the pupusas add beans, chicharrón and cheese (or combine two of the three).

Making the pupusas

With two tablespoons of dough make a ball using your hands and later clap your hands until you make a round, thin (1/8 of an inch thick) tortilla. Continue making more tortillas this way. Put filling over one tortilla, cover with another and push down the sides to close them. This is the "beginners" method.

People who have experience do it this way: make a ball with the dough. Insert your thumb in the ball and make a hole in the center. Fill that hole with the filling, close the hole by pushing the dough on the sides up. Clap your hands carefully so that the filling doesn't come out and flatten the ball.

Cook on a slightly greased griddle, pan or electric pancake griddler and cook over low-medium heat (325-350°F) first one side, then the other until they are cooked. Each side will be ready when it no longer sticks to the pan (depending on the thickness of the tortillas, this might take 4 minutes or more per side).

Pupusas are topped with pickled cabbage and tomato sauce.

Curtido (pickled colesaw)

* chopped cabbage that has been quickly passed through boiling water
* medium onion, sliced
* carrot, finely shredded
* cooked green beans, not too soft (optional)
* beets (optional)
* horseradish (optional).
* red pepper, finely chopped (optional)
* vinegar or lime juice
* water
* 1 teaspoon oregano
* salt to taste

In a glass or plastic jar with wide opening mix all the ingredients. Add vinegar and water to taste. Mix with a wooden spoon (never metal). Put the mix in the refrigerator and let it rest for a week so that the ingredients pickle.

Salsa Roja

Ingredients

* Olive oil -- 3 tablespoons
* Onion, chopped -- 1/4 cup
* Garlic, chopped -- 1 clove
* Serrano or jalapeño chile pepper, chopped -- 1
* Tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped -- 2 cups
* Dried oregano -- 2 teaspoons
* Salt and pepper -- to taste
* Cilantro (optional), chopped -- 1/4 cup

Method

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium flame. Add the onion, garlic and chile and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the onion is translucent.
2. Stir in the tomatoes and oregano and simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool a bit.
3. Puree the tomato sauce in a blender until smooth, adding a little water if needed. Add salt and pepper to taste, stir in cilantro if using and serve.

shameless plug fer the cocktail named after my former band...it's a solid tequila-based drink fer those wild nites:

http://raunchynoise.blogspot.com/2012/03/cocktail-commotion-psycho-go-go.html

dig it & cheers to yer health, kids...

This is super, Ghislaine! I was just thinking about this yesterday, thanks!

Have you seen the movie The Scent Of Green Papaya?

Serves 2: 1 big green mango,cut in thin strips

              10-12 tiger prawns

             1 lime

             Fresh basil and /or coriander leaves (as a substitute,you can use mint leaves)

             Crushed Peanuts(be generous with it)

             Red chillis 

             A little salt

 Place the mango strips on a large dish,place the shrimp,the crushed peanuts,then add the lime juice,the chilli chopped finely,and the basil leaves.Enjoy!      

red lentil coconut soup

We finally got some snow here in Portland although it only lasted a few hours it was truly beautiful for a short while. Growing up in California I’ve spent very little time in the snow and I’m always struck by how still and silent the world seems when it is blanketed in white. While I was sloshing through all the slush left over from our little storm I started dreaming about a nice warm comforting bowl of soup. Since I’ve been trying to avoid meat, dairy, gluten and sugar I had to think about my usual bowl of soup a little differently. I thought maybe a coconut based soup with some Indian spices and then I found this recipe from my favorite blogger Heidi Swanson and dinner was served.

Lentils are a great source of protein, don’t need to be soaked before cooking and an entire cup of cooked lentils contains just 200 calories. This soup tastes rich and decadent but won’t weigh you down. To bulk it up a little bit more you could serve it with some quinoa or brown rice or maybe a nice spoonful of yogurt.

Ingredients:

2 cups red split lentils
1 onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 fresh jalapeno or serrano chili, finely chopped, including seeds
1 tablespoon fresh peeled and minced ginger
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup tomato paste
7 cups water
1 can unsweetened light coconut milk
1 15-ounce can of chickpeas
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
fresh cilantro and lime wedges for serving

Method:

Heat the tablespoon of olive oil in a dutch oven or large soup pan and add the onions, bell pepper and jalapeno and cook for 5-7 minutes until the vegetables have softened and start to take on some color. Add the garlic, ginger, spices and tomato paste and continue to cook for 2-3 more minutes until the mixture is toasty and fragrant. Add the water, coconut milk, lentils and chickpeas and cook uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes adding the lime juice at the end of cooking. Taste and adjust with more salt or more lime juice if desired. Serve the soup topped with a sprinkling of fresh cilantro and some extra limes on the side.

Okra Stew

Ingredients:

* 3 lbs. chopped okra
* 1 lb. shrimp (de-veined & shelled)
* 1 lb. ham
* 1 lb. smoked sausage
* 2 14.5 ounce cans of chopped tomatoes
* 1 6oz. can tomato paste
* 2 cups chopped yellow onions
* 6 cloves garlic
* 1 6oz. can tomato paste
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 2 bay leaves
* ½ tsp. dried oregano
* ½ tsp. dried thyme
* ½ tsp. dried basil
* ½ tsp. red pepper flakes
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 2 cups chicken stock or water

Cooking Instructions

You must sweat the okra using the following process:

* In a large sauce pan, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium high heat.
* Add okra, onion and garlic. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
* Uncover and stir. Cover and simmer for 3 minutes.
* Uncover bring fire to medium high heat and continue to turn okra with a spatula until all slime is burned off. i.e., when you turn with spatula and you see no slime strains. (This process may take 10 or 15 minutes)

* Add ham, smoked sausage, tomato paste, canned tomatoes, bay leaves, dried oregano, thyme, basil, pepper flakes and 2 cups chicken stock (or water). Simmer for 20 minutes in uncovered pan.
* Add shrimp and cook for 10 minutes until shrimp turn pink.

A Winter Fast Day Soup
Potage Maigre d'Hiver
submitted by Richard Tuttle

The Creoles excel in the preparation of soups without meat, or fast day soups, which are in great vogue during the lenten season. This "Winter Fast Day Soup" comes from a 1945 edition of The Picayune Creole Cookbook published by The Picayune Times. Note the quaint language.

Ingredients:

*
1 Quart of Dried Peas.
*
3 Quarts of Water, 1 Lettuce, Sliced.
*
1 Head of Celery.
*
1 Carrot. 2 Turnips. 2 Large Onions.
*
Handful of Spinach.
*
Sprig Each of Mint, Thyme and Parsley.
*
1 Bay Leaf.
*
A Tablespoonful of Butter and a Teaspoon of Sugar.
*
Salt and Pepper to Taste.

Cooking Instructions

Stew all the vegetables, except the lettuce, together, after having chopped fine, until they are perfectly soft.
*
Then return to the fire with the chopped lettuce, butter and sugar.
*
Boil quickly about twenty minutes, and serve with Croutons.

Rick, I should point out that the word 'cocktail' is made up of the words cock and tail.

Yep, I debated as to whether I should post this (don't wanna make anyone nauseous, you people are my friends, after all!), but in the name of, uh, journalism I decided to.

Will you be the first to try this? I won't!

From the Dan Savage wikipedia:

Santorum

Savage reacted strongly to statements made about homosexuality by former United States Senator Rick Santorum in an April 2003 interview with the Associated Press. Santorum included gay sex as a form of deviant sexual behavior, along with incest, polygamy, and bestiality, that he said threatens society and the family; he said he believed consenting adults do not have a constitutional right to privacy with respect to sexual acts.^[13] Savage invited his readers to create a sex-related definition for "santorum" to "memorialize the Santorum scandal […] by attaching his name to a sex act that would make his big, white teeth fall out of his big, empty head."^[14] The winning definition was "the frothy mixture of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes the byproduct of anal sex."^[15] Savage set up a website to spread the term, inviting bloggers and others to link to it, which caused it to rise to the top of a Google search for Santorum's name.^[16]

Now being served in Brooklyn.

“People really like it even though it’s named after something gross — both the person and the Dan Savage meaning,” said John Rauschenberg, co-owner of Pacific Standard. “It’ll be an election fixture at least until primary season is over.” The duo behind the beer hole near St. Mark’s Place often put out cocktails with suggestive names, such as the Corn Holed Fashioned or Mike Gallego’s Cup. But the Santorum, a milky mixture of Baileys, orange vodka, bitters and chocolate flakes, seems to be sticking. We won’t explain how the drink matches up with an alternate definition of the word “Santorum,” as The Brooklyn Paper is a family publication — but the bar’s liberal proprietors are certain it’ll satisfy any boozy desires.

Tuesday, 6 March 2012
The Eight Kindes of Drunkennes
Back in 1592, Elizabethan satirist Thomas Nashe produced and distributed a popular pamphlet named "Pierce Pennilesse," within which was written the following — a list describing the "Eight Kindes of Drunkennes."

It seems that very little has changed.

THE EIGHT KINDES OF DRUNKENNES

The first is ape drunke; and he leapes, and singes, and hollowes, and danceth for the heavens;

The second is lion drunke; and he flings the pots about the house, calls his hostesse whore, breakes the glasse windowes with his dagger, and is apt to quarrell with anie man that speaks to him;

The third is swine drunke; heavie, lumpish, and sleepie, and cries for a little more drinke, and a fewe more cloathes;

The fourth is sheepe drunk; wise in his conceipt, when he cannot bring foorth a right word;

The fifth is mawdlen drunke; when a fellowe will weepe for kindnes in the midst of ale, and kisse you, saying, "By God, captaine, I love thee. Goe thy wayes; thou dost not thinke so often of me as I doo thee; I would (if it pleased God) I could not love thee as well as I doo;" and then he puts his finger in his eye, and cryes;

The sixt is Martin drunke; when a man is drunke, and drinkes himselfe sober ere he stirre;

The seventh is goate drunke; when, in his drunkennes, he hath no minde but on lecherie;

The eighth is fox drunke—when he is craftie drunke, as manie of the Dutchmen bee, that will never bargaine but when they are drunke.

Can Anyone Tell Me How To Make Stovetop French Fries? (Raw, not pre-cooked like below)

This is all I've found-

Don't use olive oil; bad flavor for french fries. Don't use plastic or wood; they'll melt or burn/scorch. Get a thermometer meant for deep frying. To avoid splattering, try placing a colander or similar tool with a screen-like face over the top of the pan.

I have a bag of frozen french fries.

Do you have an oven? You can probably bake the pre-cooked french fries...
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 1:36 PM on September 11, 2008

I'd recommend putting the still-frozen fries and a bit of oil (we're talking a couple of tablespoons here, nowhere near three cups) into a nonstick frying pan. Stir the fries with your wooden spatula-thingy to coat them evenly with the oil. Cover and cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally.

When the fries are thawed and have begun to actually cook, turn up the heat to medium high and, if you like, add a bit more olive oil to increase flavor and crispy goodness. I'd also suggest a sprinkle of Italian seasoning or some freshly-ground black pepper.

(Damn it, now you've made me want fries.)

Blender Avocado Dressing.

I was drawn to this recipe because of how inexpensive it was to make and how simple.

In a blender pulse together

one ripe avacado

one clove of garlic

2 T of parsley

2 T of lemon

salt, white pepper

Blend.

Add while running 2 T of olive oil.

This was the recipe as is

I added 1 T of yogurt

1 tsp. capers

Awesome dressing!!

once i added a serrano pepper to this and it didn’t compliment it at all – i case you choose to experiment. cayenne pepper added would be my suggestion if you want some hot to it.

Caper Dressing

Capers are like the vegetarian’s bacon. Like olives, they punch salt into any dish they are added to — perfect for a simple green salad. Though I like having them retain some texture you will get the best results for this lemon caper dressing recipe if you can at least partially liquify the capers. All the better to slink down the spine of every leaf and bring that lovely pickled flavour to your salad.

# 3 tablespoons Sherry wine vinegar
# 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
# 1/4 cup minced shallots
# 2 tablespoons drained capers
# 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

# 1 lemon juiced (optional)

In a small food processor combine all ingredients and pulse until capers are no longer whole. Taste and adjust pepper as necessary. The capers are likely to give you plenty of salt.

Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing

Ingredients

• 8 ounces young spinach
• 2 large eggs
• 8 pieces thick-sliced bacon, chopped
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 large white mushrooms, sliced
• 3 ounces red onion (1 small), very thinly sliced

Directions

Is that right.  That just sounds lame if Peter was a victim of experimentation like Bruce Banner was in the Hulk's first film.  It made sense there but does that have to be the case everytime now?  Even though the 1960s stories were unbelivable, they were comics and people just survived accidents and it was acceptable.

joey fuckup said:

Yeah, I did notice in the newer "Amazing Spiderman" trailer that they were playing on the connection of Peter's parents being involved with Dr. Connors. I got the impression that maybe Peter already had something done to him when he was a child, and it (whatever it was) lay dormant in his DNA for years until he gets bit by the spider in the lab. Which makes me feel like (if this is what happens in the film) that the writers are sort of ripping off Ang Lee's "Hulk" story treatment. So, if this is the case, I guess the film is way off the mark from his origin in the '60's issues.

Yeah, I did notice in the newer "Amazing Spiderman" trailer that they were playing on the connection of Peter's parents being involved with Dr. Connors. I got the impression that maybe Peter already had something done to him when he was a child, and it (whatever it was) lay dormant in his DNA for years until he gets bit by the spider in the lab. Which makes me feel like (if this is what happens in the film) that the writers are sort of ripping off Ang Lee's "Hulk" story treatment. So, if this is the case, I guess the film is way off the mark from his origin in the '60's issues.

Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

Gwen Stacy was Peter's first girlfriend that lasted more than a year which is why everyone remembers her best but technically, Betty Brant, Jonah's secretary, was Peter's first girlfriend soon he first started selling pictures to the Bugle.  It didn't last long though because he was always making up excuses why he couldn't keep dates and always disappearing and she also couldn't stand the thought that he was risking his life to take pictures of Spider-man.  The final straw was when Dr. Octopus exposed Spider-man (Peter had the flu so was easily beaten) in front of Jonah and Betty and Peter was under the mask.  Of course everyone thought that Peter was just posing in order to save Betty because he didn't trust the "real" Spider-man to show up in time.

Peter didn't meet Gwen until he started college so I think Gwen (like MJ in the previous movie series) is just taking Liz's place for the high school years and then changing into what the comics make them out to be.  The movie is including a backstory for Peter's parents this time but they are being changed.  Stan Lee back in the sixties revealed his parents to be Shield agents that were killed by the Red Skull (stupid story if you ask me) but somehow framed as traitors and Spider-man felt that it was his duty to clear their name.  I don't know what exactly happened as I only know the first part of the plot having never read the story (it's from a rare summer annual not part of the ongoing comic) but the story really reeks of fakeness.  By 1968, I think Stan ran out of ideas and just became too outlandish (Jack Kirby didn't even want to do the Silver Surfer comic that came out that year  because he added to much to his back story that didn't mesh with his intro from two years before).  The new movie makes more sense that his parents are scientists but then they throw in that they work with Curt Conners (EVERYTHING has to have a connection which ruined the Sandman story from the Toby McGuire movie for me).

For me, I'm more interested in the Avengers movie and the final Batman picture (of this run anyway) than I am in Ghost Rider or Spider-man.

joey fuckup said:

If I remember correctly in the Spiderman history, Gwen Stacy was Peter's first "real" girlfriend (not counting his crush on Liz), but died during a violent scenario involving the Green Goblin. This scene was replicated in the first "Spiderman" film, but involved Mary Jane of course. It wasn't until after Gwen died that Peter met Mary Jane, so maybe this new retelling will follow the original '60's storylines more so than what Sam Raimi did.

Thanks for clarifying the back story of Black Widow, because I've only known her as a guest star in other comics. Like I said, I never really followed the Avengers, but I did like the Iron Man comics, although I had stopped reading them by the time Tony Stark became an alcoholic. I was more of a "Defenders" fan, one of the most mix-matched group of superheroes ever (Hulk, Dr. Strange, Howard the Duck, Nighthawk, and other various off-the-wall characters).

Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

Never been a huge Ghost Rider fan but that is messed up.  I remember back in the 70s that a foundation or something was set up to protect creators and to get some back pay (not much but some).  This was done before the first Christopher Reeve Superman movie and DC wasn't about to include Seigle and Shuster in on the celebration.  I think Neal Adams (best known for doing Batman and Green Lantern in the early 70s) was behind this.  Since then, Superman and Batman each have their creators name on the front page (if that is still going on).

I really don't have too much of a problem with the CGI look for the Hulk and Spiderman.  If it helps them move around quickly like they are supposed to, then I don't mind.  Hulk does look a little flat though so you are right that he needs demension and the lighting helps.

As for Black Widow and Hawkeye in the Avengers, I feel they were just thrown in as well.  Black Widow was a Russian agent in the 60s Iron Man comics and had tricked Hawkeye into joining her against him (he thought he was in love with her).  He was in the Avengers as a probation type of thing when Captain America needed to put together a new team after the original went their own ways (the Hulk was only an Avenger for the first 2 issues).  But these movies have changed a lot of their histories and even now they have changed the whole Spider-man story again for his upcoming movie.  Mary Jane has been dropped and they've decided to have Gwen Stacy be his girl friend once again.  Maybe when they redo him again, they'll remember Liz Allan or even Betty Brant.

Gwen Stacy was Peter's first girlfriend that lasted more than a year which is why everyone remembers her best but technically, Betty Brant, Jonah's secretary, was Peter's first girlfriend soon he first started selling pictures to the Bugle.  It didn't last long though because he was always making up excuses why he couldn't keep dates and always disappearing and she also couldn't stand the thought that he was risking his life to take pictures of Spider-man.  The final straw was when Dr. Octopus exposed Spider-man (Peter had the flu so was easily beaten) in front of Jonah and Betty and Peter was under the mask.  Of course everyone thought that Peter was just posing in order to save Betty because he didn't trust the "real" Spider-man to show up in time.

Peter didn't meet Gwen until he started college so I think Gwen (like MJ in the previous movie series) is just taking Liz's place for the high school years and then changing into what the comics make them out to be.  The movie is including a backstory for Peter's parents this time but they are being changed.  Stan Lee back in the sixties revealed his parents to be Shield agents that were killed by the Red Skull (stupid story if you ask me) but somehow framed as traitors and Spider-man felt that it was his duty to clear their name.  I don't know what exactly happened as I only know the first part of the plot having never read the story (it's from a rare summer annual not part of the ongoing comic) but the story really reeks of fakeness.  By 1968, I think Stan ran out of ideas and just became too outlandish (Jack Kirby didn't even want to do the Silver Surfer comic that came out that year  because he added to much to his back story that didn't mesh with his intro from two years before).  The new movie makes more sense that his parents are scientists but then they throw in that they work with Curt Conners (EVERYTHING has to have a connection which ruined the Sandman story from the Toby McGuire movie for me).

For me, I'm more interested in the Avengers movie and the final Batman picture (of this run anyway) than I am in Ghost Rider or Spider-man.

joey fuckup said:

If I remember correctly in the Spiderman history, Gwen Stacy was Peter's first "real" girlfriend (not counting his crush on Liz), but died during a violent scenario involving the Green Goblin. This scene was replicated in the first "Spiderman" film, but involved Mary Jane of course. It wasn't until after Gwen died that Peter met Mary Jane, so maybe this new retelling will follow the original '60's storylines more so than what Sam Raimi did.

Thanks for clarifying the back story of Black Widow, because I've only known her as a guest star in other comics. Like I said, I never really followed the Avengers, but I did like the Iron Man comics, although I had stopped reading them by the time Tony Stark became an alcoholic. I was more of a "Defenders" fan, one of the most mix-matched group of superheroes ever (Hulk, Dr. Strange, Howard the Duck, Nighthawk, and other various off-the-wall characters).

Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

Never been a huge Ghost Rider fan but that is messed up.  I remember back in the 70s that a foundation or something was set up to protect creators and to get some back pay (not much but some).  This was done before the first Christopher Reeve Superman movie and DC wasn't about to include Seigle and Shuster in on the celebration.  I think Neal Adams (best known for doing Batman and Green Lantern in the early 70s) was behind this.  Since then, Superman and Batman each have their creators name on the front page (if that is still going on).

I really don't have too much of a problem with the CGI look for the Hulk and Spiderman.  If it helps them move around quickly like they are supposed to, then I don't mind.  Hulk does look a little flat though so you are right that he needs demension and the lighting helps.

As for Black Widow and Hawkeye in the Avengers, I feel they were just thrown in as well.  Black Widow was a Russian agent in the 60s Iron Man comics and had tricked Hawkeye into joining her against him (he thought he was in love with her).  He was in the Avengers as a probation type of thing when Captain America needed to put together a new team after the original went their own ways (the Hulk was only an Avenger for the first 2 issues).  But these movies have changed a lot of their histories and even now they have changed the whole Spider-man story again for his upcoming movie.  Mary Jane has been dropped and they've decided to have Gwen Stacy be his girl friend once again.  Maybe when they redo him again, they'll remember Liz Allan or even Betty Brant.

If I remember correctly in the Spiderman history, Gwen Stacy was Peter's first "real" girlfriend (not counting his crush on Liz), but died during a violent scenario involving the Green Goblin. This scene was replicated in the first "Spiderman" film, but involved Mary Jane of course. It wasn't until after Gwen died that Peter met Mary Jane, so maybe this new retelling will follow the original '60's storylines more so than what Sam Raimi did.

Thanks for clarifying the back story of Black Widow, because I've only known her as a guest star in other comics. Like I said, I never really followed the Avengers, but I did like the Iron Man comics, although I had stopped reading them by the time Tony Stark became an alcoholic. I was more of a "Defenders" fan, one of the most mix-matched group of superheroes ever (Hulk, Dr. Strange, Howard the Duck, Nighthawk, and other various off-the-wall characters).

Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

Never been a huge Ghost Rider fan but that is messed up.  I remember back in the 70s that a foundation or something was set up to protect creators and to get some back pay (not much but some).  This was done before the first Christopher Reeve Superman movie and DC wasn't about to include Seigle and Shuster in on the celebration.  I think Neal Adams (best known for doing Batman and Green Lantern in the early 70s) was behind this.  Since then, Superman and Batman each have their creators name on the front page (if that is still going on).

I really don't have too much of a problem with the CGI look for the Hulk and Spiderman.  If it helps them move around quickly like they are supposed to, then I don't mind.  Hulk does look a little flat though so you are right that he needs demension and the lighting helps.

As for Black Widow and Hawkeye in the Avengers, I feel they were just thrown in as well.  Black Widow was a Russian agent in the 60s Iron Man comics and had tricked Hawkeye into joining her against him (he thought he was in love with her).  He was in the Avengers as a probation type of thing when Captain America needed to put together a new team after the original went their own ways (the Hulk was only an Avenger for the first 2 issues).  But these movies have changed a lot of their histories and even now they have changed the whole Spider-man story again for his upcoming movie.  Mary Jane has been dropped and they've decided to have Gwen Stacy be his girl friend once again.  Maybe when they redo him again, they'll remember Liz Allan or even Betty Brant.

I've had several this past season.  I sub a cinnamon stick for the sugar/honey and go a little heavier on the cloves (personal preference).  I love the Powers.  Tasty and affordable, it's my "go to." 

Love the posters, Corinne & Idon Mike!

"Jukebox Lean" brush & ink on watercolor paper

naww!2 spoons of fucking wonton soup mix,i fucked the typing,that's all,and i wrote about this 'mistake' anyway!!!enjoy! ;)

Spite Classic said:

22 Tablespoons of bean sprouts?!  You'se Hilarious!  Sounds good too!

22 Tablespoons of bean sprouts?!  You'se Hilarious!  Sounds good too!