If a Tree Falls

Movie still found here

I have been having a series of hectic mornings lately and as such I have been missing out on my morning news program which left me itching for a documentary. It lost out to "Undeated" at the Oscars this year, but being nominated landed it in my Netflix queue. Ben and I have grand plans for tearing down two trees in our yard so this film seemed fit the zeitgeist. 

The documentary focuses on the story of the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), a radical environmental group that the FBI has dubbed America's 'number one domestic terrorist threat'. Seeing the destruction of forests in the West as well as the brutality of the police against protesters was incredibly heart-wrenching and hard to watch at times. If you have a minute, check out this PBS video clip from the movie about a particular protest in downtown Eugene.

The film also focused on Daniel McGowan an ELF member facing a life-sentence for his arson crimes. In my opinion, the movie was split into two halves, the second half focusing too much on Daniel McGowan's feelings about incarceration and not enough about the cause itself.

Movie Rating: 

Plot: 3 stars

Cinematography: 2 stars

Acting: 3 stars 

Average: 2.66 stars 

 This amazing pot of fresh herbs was a wonderful housewarming present! Thank you Joan!

Radicchio with Linguine and Fresh Oregon-o

Recipe adapted from the one found here

INGREDIENTS

2 head radicchio, cored and julienned

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1/4 pound pancetta, julienned

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon fresh oregano, minced

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound fresh linguine

1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano

salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add pancetta and brown, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low and add onions. Season with a little salt (not too much as the pancetta is already salty) and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until inions are translucent, about 5 minutes more. Add garlic and cook for two more minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Add radicchio to the onion mixture and cook, stirring, until radicchio is wilted, about 3 minutes. Add pasta and reserved cooking water, mix well. Finally add 1/2 the cheese, the oregano. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve with a little cheese on top.

We both though this was quite the tasty dish! But with the slightly bitter radicchio and salt pancetta, we couldn't help but wonder what it would taste like with something sweet such as golden raisins added.

Dinner Rating: 

Movie Relevance: 3.5 stars

Taste: 3.8 stars

Average: 3.65 stars