2.8.11 Ten on Tuesday

Ten favorite Oscar winning movies.

Hmmm...

I rarely pay attention to the Oscars. I've almost never seen the nominees before they get voted on. I usually don't get around to seeing the winners or the rest of the nominees until three or four (or more? ETA: apparently "mostly more", given how few winners I've actually seen!) years later.

I wasn't even sure which movies I had seen were actually Oscar winners.

Google to the rescue on the innernets: Best Pictures

Well, running through the list, I've actually seen 14 of them. I disliked Rocky and Gone with the Wind, leaving me with 12. Ben-Hur was ok, but nothing I'll watch again. The Sound of Music is in the peculiar position of being a movie I liked enough that I watched it over and over, to the point where the music and the movie affect me like nails on a chalkboard. I'll probably never see it again and I switch stations if any of the music ever pops up.

So... My top 10 Oscar Winners:

1. It Happened One Night
2. Rebecca
3. Casablanca
4. West Side Story
5. My Fair Lady
6. Oliver!
7. The Sting
8. Amadeus
9. Forrest Gump
10. A Beautiful Mind

2.6.11 Birdfeeder

The birdfeeder in the back yard attracts a variety of birds at this time of year - dark eyed juncos, cardinals, the occasional chickadee, and a flock of mourning doves. Since the dog died last year, we've had crows and squirrels raiding more often; the cats just don't have quite the same effect.

This visitor was a new one:

The best I've been able to figure out, it's a kestrel. They eat rodents and small birds - I'm only surprised I've never seen one at the birdfeeder before.

It stayed for about 20 minutes, and then was gone as suddenly as it arrived.

2.4.11 Apricot Bread

I finally amassed all the ingredients to make one of my favorite breads:

Apricot Bread (based on the version in Beard on Bread)

Preheat oven to 350F.

2 cups [loosely packed] dried California apricots (on the east coast these are harder to find - most everyone carries the Mediterranean which won't make the bread I like).

1 cup boiling water, poured over the apricots to soften them. Wait about 30 seconds and then start pulling the apricots out of the water and start chopping them. I usually just pull a few at a time out, but if they are getting mushy, go ahead and fish them all out at once. Save the water.

Measure the water - add enough to have a full cup of water again.

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 c sugar

2 eggs

Mix water, soda, sugar and eggs together.

2-3/4 c flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 c black walnuts (As with the California apricots, the black walnuts are needed for the proper taste. They're somewhat hard to find around here, but my sister gave me a package for Christmas. )

Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients.

Spray two loaf pans with cooking spray. Divide batter into pans equally. Bake for 45 minutes (until risen and dark golden). Let cool on a rack and enjoy.