new home for essential monsters

Over the past months my essential monsters website and email have partaken in a mysterious disappearing act. Poof gone! Poof here again! My host site, owned by the same person who designed my site and hosted my email seems to have vanished. My stuff along with anything having to do with said person, including his own site is gone, gone, gone, baby gone. I've decided to start a blog to keep the ole girl alive. Purchases can be made through my etsy shop. Now I will be hunting for a new place for E.M. to live permanently.

blog!

F is for FIG!

I came home from work a bit ago completely starved. My fantastic neighbor has a fig tree and there are some very ripe and ready to pounce on fruits hanging heavily from it. I picked two and made the following....

2 large ripe figs
crumbled gorgonzola
honey
olive oil

Heat a large pan with a tablespoon of olive oil
Cut the figs in half
Pan fry them for 4 minutes each side
Plate and top with gorgonzola and drizzle with honey

Holy smokes! So delicious! Even Jim ate it and his experience with figs involves the disgusting center of those darn cookies which led to a taste aversion to all things figish.
I wish I took a photo for you all.

beantown part deux

eli and parker, jimm and tracey, nate

nicole and benjamin

boston fall 2000

mister matthew eugene bone

Today I would like you to meet one of my soulmates for the better part of the past decade. He is the proud new writer of "there is no brush" over at nerdist.com and one hell of a painter. From nuclear fallout hair that scares even Gary Oldman to wiping a third parties vomit on my face as a sign of true friendship, I love you Matthew.

"extinction level event" detail

"flora and fauna" featuring a certain amazing filmaker...more to come on that...

"crown of thorns" detail

"piece of the true cross"

"show no mercy" may or may not be me

Please visit Matthew over at myspace, facebook, and for some unknown reason he prefers here .

beantown days

jimm, eric, cris,
josh, mike, caitlyn,
christina, tracey, kora

boston early 2000

nothing will replace the polaroid

los angeles 2000

no beginning

But I do have to pick this all up somewhere, don't I? After much neglect and "do I post, or don't I?" Here is a beginning of sorts. Swann Danger are the band in question, shot by me and a certain Skot B., edited by the B. as well.

Shot at their practice space for some gritty meets glam. Overlay of a take of the song shot in the dark with a stobe light.

I'm coming back babies, I swear.

If only I could pull myself away from these boys...

rowland s. howard

will be greatly missed...

blue moon

Sorry babies, been very busy. I'll catch you all up on the flip side. Until then come ring in the new year with us...
click on zee lady.

Visit Blessure Grave as well, it'll be a fantastic show!

vegan mac n' cheese please!

On these super cold nights we've been having this is such a cozy feel good and sleepy meal. Don't get the wrong idea with this being a vegan recipe, I love the hell out of all sorts of cheese, this dish is just plain delish.

preheat oven to 350

1 cup soy milk ( I use vanilla- it's good I swear!)
1/2 cup water
a wee bit less than 1/4 cup of Bragg's liquid aminos
1 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 tablespoon paprika
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
pinch of cayenne for good measure
2 pinches of salt
half block of tofu, or about 7 ounces
1/4 cup olive or safflower oil
2 tablespoons mustard

throw all of this nonsense into a blender, and blend away.
boil water for your noodles silly.

3/4 pounds of whole wheat elbow noodles (penne works well too)

after boiling noodles drain and put into a glass baking pan, pour blended goodness over the top, throw it in the oven for about 20 - 30 minutes.

Dress it up:
I throw a jalapeno pepper in the blender for some kick.
Jim likes cut up tofu pups thrown in the glass pan before baking.

new collapse encore!

Obsessing over and missing New Collapse lately. For those of you who didn't get to ever see, you missed something truly special. Raw, powerful and just fucking awesome L.A. three piece. Quinn on some slaughtering keyboard action, Rich Bitch on some primal drum beats and Sophia in some full force pissed off woman tour de force. The shows had this insane energy period.

new collapse on myspace

What I would like to see happen now- release everything you guys have left recorded, including those 6 songs on a CDR, and put it on vinyl already! You deserve it and we, the people deserve it! Miss you guys terribly.

youtube footage courtsey of Kevin Brown

go here to see his vast archive!

for the love of parsnip

parsnip ginger puree:
preheat oven to 400

1.5 pounds parsnip, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon safflower oil (olive oil will do)
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
sea salt & fresh ground black pepper
toss these together into a roasting pan, bake for 20 minutes, parsnip should be tender

throw all of this into your food processor or blender
add:
1.5 cups half & half (soy milk could be used but may mess with the texture)
blend away until mashed potato-like
transfer into a square glass baking dish
back in oven for 10 minutes

Delish! We ate it with bbq tempeh and steamed broccoli.
perfect potato substitute.

For a bite of sweet may I suggest Trader Joe's Maple Leaf Cookies. They are like holy shit kind of good.