Guys, I am pretty disillusioned with Washington right now. No, there hasn’t been another foot-in-mouth-comment from a backward politician (well, not that I’ve read today, anyway) or the threat of yet another government shutdown.
No, what really has me going is how Fitzgerald Grant doesn’t do anything but sit around calling Olivia Pope.
SPOILER ALERT, YO. (Although, seriously, I don’t know if any of this constitutes spoilers to the rest of humanity since I am sorely behind on this whole Scandal thing.)
Numerous friends have been pestering me to watch Scandal, telling me it’s addictive, etc. And then I read that Kerry Washington was the first black actress nominated for a Lead Emmy in almost 20 years. (That’s seriously pathetic, by the way. Get it together, television.) So that was enough to grab my interest. But my list of television shows in my DVR queue was growing and growing so I kept putting off starting a new show. I’m kind of a TV junkie.
Finally, I got rid of cable. Partly because they raised our rate, partly because I needed to wean myself off of my drug of choice. I, of course, replaced cable with my old standby, Netflix, and a new Amazon Prime subscription. I’m just not a cold-turkey type of gal. I started watching Scandal on February 12 and finished Season 2 last night. Honestly, it would have been even sooner, but I was cutting it with episodes of House of Cards. (You can see why I’m not a fan of fictional D.C. right now.)
So here’s the thing. Now I’m obsessed with Scandal. If I don’t get my hands on some Season 3 episodes soon, I might have a nervous breakdown. What the hell was that season finale? Don’t do this to me!
One thing is bothering me. I don’t understand why all the characters are gaga about Fitz’s leadership abilities. I know his political beliefs aren’t exactly the focus of the show, but Cyrus and Olivia are constantly saying how the country needs him, and the fate of America is in his hands, and blahblahblah and therefore they were willing to rig a friggin’ election for him. But so far, all I’ve seen him do is get drunk in the shower, go hunting, and have late-night phone chats with Olivia.
I’m assuming that Cyrus’ and Olivia’s real motivations aren’t so much driven by Fitz’s presidential qualities as much as by their own desires. Cyrus wants to be powerful and Fitz being president is the closest he’s going to get, and Olivia is just so head over heels she wants Fitz to have whatever he wants. Look, I know this isn’t real life. But I just need this to make sense. Because I am having dreams about Scandal. This kind of is my real life right now. It’s what happens when you have an unhealthy relationship with the black box in your living room.
Finally, I will just end with: can we all agree that Huck is so adorable and we want to squeeze him? When it comes to TV, I always go for the sensitive serial-killer type. (Sorry, not sorry.)
ANISE-INFUSED BLACK RICE PUDDING
- 1 cup (200 grams) black rice (also known as forbidden rice)
- ¼ cup (57 grams) unsalted butter
- pinch of coarse salt
- 8 cups whole milk
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 pieces whole star anise
- 1½ cups (300 grams) sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice (optional)
- In a 6-quart stockpot, combine rice, butter, and salt. Add enough water to cover the rice, and cook, covered, over low heat until all the water has evaporated.
- Remove lid and pour in milk, stirring to combine. Throw in the cinnamon stick and whole star anise. Continue to cook over low heat, uncovered, until the rice mixture thickens and you can make a path through it, about 1½-2 hours. Stir frequently (about every ten minutes), so the rice doesn’t burn and stick to the bottom of the pot.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Slowly pour the egg mixture into the hot rice mixture, stirring constantly until combined. If using, add the Chinese five-spice and stir it in.
- Remove the pot from the heat and pour the pudding into a large serving bowl or portion it out into smaller serving dishes. Cool at room temperature for 15 minutes, then cover with plastic wrap and move to the refrigerator to cool completely.
By Maria Siriano
Source: siftandwhisk.com (defunct blog)
