Sizzling Summertime Movies--a look at Thelma & Louise, by, Gina Meyers

Sizzling Summertime Movies--a look at Thelma & Louise


by, Gina Meyers


Summertime is upon us. Not the usual type of summer we're used to. But, over here at the Meyers' household, we are trying to make it as carefree and fun as possible.

I'll admit that my teenager has some rather obscure tastes in television shows and movies, but we can and do agree on a few.

So here are some summertime movies that have been summertime tested by both mother and teenage son.

Sixteen Candles
Back to the Future
The Master of Disguise
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Grease



And now for our diving into the film classic, Thelma & Louise

Thelma and Louise. We both approached this movie from a historical standpoint. First movie with two female villain characters both kind of drawn to the dark side of the law by circumstance. We also liked seeing a very young Brad Pitt in what I believed to be his first real big movie breakout role.

After taking two days to watch, we both surmised that it is a rather depressing movie. Everyone knows they drive their cool car off a cliff. I think it was important for us to see that there was a "why" to their actions, but honestly we really liked the whole period piece in that it is from the early 90's, with fashion, police protocol, how detectives still tracked them via pay phones, etc. And what about those hairstyles and jumpsuits? Wow!

Not for the faint of heart, don't watch with little kids in the room-- (Lucas said this, plus he also said "shitty movie") though and definitely not the type of movie you want to watch looking for an optimistic outcome, they die in the end. But they believed "freedom was the cost."

Why did my teenager call it a shitty movie, because the ladies, Thelma & Louise would rather die than go back to the lives they had with their men and their society and the potential incarceration they faced.

Thelma & Louise is a 1991 American female buddy road film directed by Ridley Scott and written by Callie Khouri. It stars Geena Davis as Thelma and Susan Sarandon as Louise, two friends who embark on a road trip which ends up in unforeseen circumstances. The supporting cast include Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen, and Brad Pitt in one of his first major film roles.

Corn Confetti Salad, by, Gina Meyers

Ingredients
2 tablespoons good olive oil, such as Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Even Avocado Oil.

1/2 cup chopped red onion

1 small red bell pepper, 1/2-inch diced

2 tablespoons unsalted butter (optional)

Kernels cut from 5 ears yellow or white corn (4 cups) (can be cooked or uncooked corn)

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper



Direction Options:

On a cutting board, slice bell pepper and dice red onion. Cut corn off the ear. Place all ingredients in a bowl, drizzle olive or avocado oil over the ingredients in the bowl, you may add a little vinegar or balsamic vinegar if you like. Chill in fridge add salt and pepper and serve cold.

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large saute pan. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes, until the onion is soft. Stir in the bell pepper and saute for 2 more minutes. Next, if you want to:
add the butter to the pan and allow it to melt. Over medium heat, add the corn, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. May serve warm.

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Dining around California after sheltering in place lifted, Covid-19 Summer 2020 , by, Gina Meyers

Halibut on pesto risotto, Schooners, Cayucos, Ca. 

http://schoonerscayucos.com/

Love & Garlic's Grazing Box

http://www.loveandgarlic.com/

Angele's Steak Bite, Napa Valley, California

https://www.angelerestaurant.com/

Grasings, Dining in Carmel Valley, CA.

** Cookbook Author Gina Meyers note: All dining experiences have been mindful of Covid-19, there have been washing stations, hand sanitizers, proper distance protocols, all restaurant staff has worn masks and I too have taken precautions by wearing a mask which currently is our most effective means of lowering the curve of contagion. We need to support our restaurants, so my recommendation is, if you don't feel comfortable, order take out or purchase a gift certificate for later.

The Fourth of July Weekend brought some challenges, mainly what is open in California. Luckily, we had a wonderful dining experience on Friday, July 3rd, outdoors at https://www.ristoranteallegria.com/. I ordered the Ahi Tuna and the dessert of Tirimisu was delightful! Sunday, July 5th, was another dining Win! Harris Ranch now is serving outdoors, though a little hot and no misters, I did think I saw Richard Hatch of Survivor Fame and we survived under the patio umbrella. I ordered a Wedged Salad and shared a tri tip sandwich with sweet potato fries. Our friends ordered Mountain Oysters, which are famous at Harris Ranch. Whenever I try something new, I say it tastes like chicken. My culinary bravery was in full effect as Mountain Oysters are the testicles of a bull breaded.

Napa Valley California, Ristorante Allegria

Grilled Artichokes, Fried Calamari at Pismo's Coastal Grill, Fresno, CA.
Pismo's Coastal Grill Restaurant


Over the past month, I've gone on a food journey of sorts. As a cookbook author and publisher, I have an essential business, I am fortunate to work part- time in marketing for a catering company, part time producer for a television station and my significant other is the proprietor of a winery which is also an essential business. My son had been being home schooled prior to the corona virus, so when restaurants started opening up a couple of weeks ago, we decided to take advantage of the opportunity.

We Californians pride ourselves on good food and wine. Did you notice there is a period at the end of the sentence? Don't get me wrong, I LOVE cooking, while sheltering in place, I made my Grandma Rose's Spaghetti Sauce twice, my Noni Julie's Anise Biscotti Cookies (and my grandma/noni is alive and well, kicking it  at 99 years of age,  so it's  fun to tell her that I just baked a dozen of her now famous sprinkled cookie concoctions.) I've made batches of pesto sauce, yes, with the pine nuts and extra garlic. And, I made a Tuscan chicken with Marsala wine sauce one day too.

Noni Julie's Anise Biscotti Cookies

But, it's fun to explore the California coastline, so a couple of weeks back, I asked my significant other to fly us to Monterey, he obliged. So, on the fly, we explored Big Sur for a little while, my daughters' future wedding venue and on a friend's recommendation (a local), we sat outside at Grasings in Carmel. The food was fabulous and I especially appreciated the use of real silverware while dining alfresco. They got creative with my mimosa (the way they had small containers for the freshly squeezed orange juice and the champagne was in an enclosed drink container and everything we ordered including the salmon and the Cesar salad was scrumptious.

Next on our food journey stop was about a week later in Napa Valley. We dined outdoors at Angele, it was a warm day in Napa, about 90 degrees, the food and service were excellent and the olives were yummy! The steak bites were a little on the medium rare side, but I like them that way!

Surprise birthday grazing box from my new employers was quite a TREAT... and then we were off to San Luis Obispo, rented a Lincoln Mark 8, let the boys, aka, teenagers, boogie board in the Ocean for an hour and then headed to Schooners for Cippino, Halibut and pesto risotto. The halibut was overcooked so we asked for a do over, and guess what they did the same thing, overcooked. But the Cippino was delightful and lasted in the fridge a couple of days past the weekend excursion.

To celebrate all A's, and 35 units completed in one semester of high school-- and craving more seafood, my son suggested Pismo's Coastal Grill. There we tried the fried calamari (which was so-so, much better at Schooners). I ordered a beet and goat cheese salad, which was tasty, and my son had a messo messo (so so) fish sandwich which he apologized to himself over. "I should have read it more closely, I don't like sweet and savory!) They spoiled us with more iced tea that one should drink when not utilizing public restroom, LOL.

Our food journey thus far has been a magnificent cacophony of celebrating the California Coastline, the Wine Country, and the heart of the Valley.

Forgot to mention the Grilled Artichokes at Pismo's Coastal Grill in Fresno, yummy!

Update, this article was written at the beginning of June, to date, I've added two exceptional dining experiences to the list. 

Deviled Eggs at The Elbow Room

Exceptional Calamari at: https://www.bluewatergrill.com/locations/catalina-island



Gina Meyers is a cookbook author, https://www.ginameyers.com

I will help you write your Marketing/Business Plan with your PPP Proceeds, by, Gina Meyers

Did you get approved for the PPP loan and you need to use the money within four weeks to receive the benefit on your taxes? Why not hire me as a marketing expert. For as little as $60 per hour, I will write a marketing/business plan for your company.

https://yourgirlfridayvirtualassistant.godaddysites.com/

Learn Your Brain Type, Optimize your Thinking Tank, Bring it to Full, by, Gina Meyers

Learn Your Brain Type
Optimize your Thinking Tank, Bring it to Full

Fuel your mind




By, Gina Meyers

 With sheltering in place, I've had the chance to read more and get around to things that I've been meaning to get around to, like home and even self-improvement projects, lol. Yes, I am a big fan of self-improvement.

Nothings been particularly easy with staying at home and sharing custody of a teenage boy who started homeschooling a month and 1/2 before the rest of the world. But it's summertime, let the celebration begin!

For me:
Losing jobs (or being furloughed) and gaining new one's (for me three "new" jobs not counting home schooling) in a three month period of time, if it sounds like a lot, it is because it is. But grateful for the opportunities and seeing the BIG picture. As a publisher and cookbook author, I already wear a lot of hats, as an entrepreneur it's been a heck of a lot of fun creating my first magazine, Dream It Magazine, and a Dream It Journal. Reinventing my Noni Julie's Anise Biscotti Business. I am not superwoman, nor do I claim to be one on TV.

*Takeaway, we all have a lot on our plates, but what are you choosing to put on, take off?



Plus, having an "essential" business, it has been a good excuse to drive to the lake for the view, etc. every now and again during shelter in place.  But, now, we are getting back into life again, some of us a toe in the pool at a time.

There are tons of risk assessments online for different activities you may or may not want to pursue this summer. I would recommend this: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/05/23/861325631/from-camping-to-dining-out-heres-how-experts-rate-the-risks-of-14-summer-activit

But I think when we all got to put the pause button on the VCR, I am seeing a lot of people, including my mom, dad, aunt, and uncle who are choosing to live their lives more from home and less out in the "real world so to speak."

This is a good thing considering we all have risk factors and there is no known cure for Covid-19.

So, while you temporarily take the VCR off of pause and put it to play for awhile, I hope you take this FREE Brain Type Quiz.  I am not affiliated with Dr. Amen or his practice, but I am familiar with his work. And, if you desire to be a brain coach, he even has courses for you to take!

His work is changing and has changed thousands of people's lives. Like faces, we all have different brains, no two are alike. I've found myself approaching things from a Quarantine 15 (similar to Freshman 15, when you gain pounds) metaphorically thinking, instead of optimizing food, brain power, situations,  in order to use it as fuel for my brain. Not beating myself up, but reattaching the VCR tape that came off the spool, more metaphors--

If I've lost you, it's cause my high octane brain hasn't consumed it's necessary food fuel for the morning.

Just give the Brain Quiz a try, I promise it won't hurt! https://www.brainhealthassessment.com/assessment

And remember, it's your life so you get to choose how you live it, sheltering in place, sheltering out in the world, etc.

Don't forget, BE KIND REWIND!

Basil Pesto, recipe by, Gina Meyers

Basil Pesto

1 cup of olive oil

1 head of garlic, cloves, peeled

2 cups of fresh basil leaves, divided

1 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, leaves, divided.

½ cup of pine nuts (or cashews)

½ teaspoon of salt.

1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

¼ cup of grated Romano cheese

Directions: in a blender, combine half of the ingredients, basil, parsley, pine nuts, salt, garlic and oil.
Pulse about 20 times, or until coarsely chopped. Scrape the sides of the food processor.

Recipes such as these can be found in a plethora of Gina's books,
she writes under the moniker Gina Ferrari as well.
Cook Like a Native Italian, by, Gina Ferrari

About Cookbook Author Gina Marie Ferrari