Do-overs.

“You will never watch a movie twice when you’re with me,” my boyfriend always says. I believe this is largely a ploy to get out of watching the weird assortment of movies that I am enthusiastically convinced are “classics” based on a single late-night viewing five years ago on my father’s satellite movie channels. However, I applaud him for sticking to his guns. “It’s just not as much fun if you’ve seen it before,” he protests.

As a serial re-watcher of television shows and movies, I have to say that I blatantly disregard this principle in my personal life.  I say this as I flip to Bring It On (2000) playing on the WE channel. I saw Bring It On in theaters, because I was then a Pee Wee cheerleader, and then later saw it many other times in 2000, with my fellow Pee Wee cheerleaders. Now it’s on the channel for middle-aged women who are too cool for Lifetime, and I will watch it again! Not only do I watch movies and TV shows more than once, I don’t even reserve this weird habit for really (or even sort of) good entertainment.

I re-watch for the same reason I have been putting off reading Pale Fire for several years even though I really, really want to read it. Because 75% of the time, I need a break from thinking about stuff. I want to kick back and mindlessly watch some Buffy. Let me remind you, I started watching Buffy in 1997. It went off the air in 2002. I have gotten to the point where I can ‘start watching’ Buffy on any episode after a long Buffy-less spell and know exactly what’s going on. And don’t get me started on Law & Order marathons, aka the entire A&E channel all the time. Sequence and overaching plot do not matter. It’s my ultimate hangover cure.

Many would feel that this is a colossal and mind-rotting waste of time. I, in fact, feel this way a lot of the time. But then I ask myself: would I honestly rather be watching 8-1/2 when my mind can clearly only process art at the level of a teen movie re-run? Ah, let me relax from my long day with some Italian art house cinema. I mean, really. I just started a new job and am learning a new software program every other day. Grocery shopping in my new neighborhood is still a grand and complicated adventure. Wouldn’t be a waste of time to try to force myself to experience something thought-provoking when my thoughts are already done being provoked? In my experience, every time I do this I end up hating whatever it was I tried to watch, even if it wasn’t all that bad for any objective or quantifiable reason. Like 8-1/2, which I tried to Netflix Instant a couple of years ago after being dumped. I didn’t even finish it–that how much of a chance I gave that one.

I’d pontificate about this more, but it’s getting late and those vampires aren’t going to slay themselves. Adios.

roll it up.

My new favorite way to use up those odds and ends from the vegetable drawer is making spring rolls.  I (well Caelyn, the boyfriend, and I) first made them as part of the spread for my Olympics-themed birthday party.  They were fresh, crunchy, and delicious, so I decided to recreate them using what I had on hand a few weeks later.

You can customize them however you’d like.  This time, I used baby spinach, cucumbers, carrots, red pepper, scallions, and apple, along with some basil, mint, and cilantro.  You could also add cooked meat or seafood, vermicelli noodles, sprouts, avocado, mango, or whatever else you fancy.  I think it could also be fun to create seasonal versions in the upcoming months.  Just make sure whatever you’re using is julienned or cut into bite-sized pieces for easy eating.  Putting them together does take a bit of practice, but it’s a fun way to spend a bit of time with a guaranteed delicious result.

It works best for me to get all my ingredients ready and then set everything I need up before starting.

After that, it’s basically like assembling a burrito.

Step 1: Soak your spring roll wrappers in warm water for 15-30 seconds.  They’ll be brittle when you take them out of the package, with a subtle pattern that you may be able to make out in the photo above.  A quick soak in warm water and they’ll be pliable and ready for filling!

Step 2: Carefully lay the spring roll wrapper on a clean kitchen towel.  It might stick to itself a bit or have a few wrinkles, but as long as you can generally lay it out flat, it’ll be fine.  It also may tear a little, but unless it’s a large tear, you can still use it.  Add a leafy base to the bottom third of the circle.  I used baby spinach, but you can use any kind of lettuce or greens.

Step 3: Layer on herbs.  Be generous; fresh herbs add lots of flavor.

Step 4: Add the vegetables.  I find it easiest if I lay them horizontally, which will make it easier to roll.  If you use cooked meat or seafood, add that as well.

Step 5: Now begins the rolling.  It’s the same as a burrito- first, fold over each side.

Step 6: Next, tuck the bottom strip over the filling, tucking it as tightly as possible.  This is the part that I find most difficult, but after the first few my technique generally gets better.

Step 7: Finally, just roll it up.  The wrapper will stick to itself and create a seal, so you don’t need to worry about it unrolling.

Step 8: Enjoy!  You can slice them in half or leave them whole.  They are definitely best with a dipping sauce- this time I used hoisin, but I also enjoyed this dipping sauce last time.  Or create your own.  The best part about these are that they’re completely adaptable to your tastes.  So next time you’re at the grocery store, pick up a package of spring roll wrappers and you’ll be ready to go when the mood strikes, or you have to create a meal out of some refrigerator scraps.