A Short Collection of Animated Shorts

I was browsing through some blogs I had bookmarked a while back. Suffice it to say, I came across a mention of an animated short based on the picture book titled The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr Morris Lessmore written by William Joyce. Of course I had to look it up on YouTube and after viewing it, had to share it here.

The short, also directed by William Joyce and Brandon Oldenberg, is brilliant and so much more expressive than the written story.

As is typical of me and YouTube, I came across a number of other shorts that I've either re-discovered or am now discovering for the first time.

The next couple of shorts I've come across previously and am happy to have re-discovered.

The first short, Alma, was written and directed by Rodrigo Blaas. It is a beautiful, yet eerie, film about a young girl and a toy store with its collection of dolls.

Paperman by John Kahrs is one of my favorite shorts and is about the chance meeting between a young man and a young woman and the forces that bring them back together.

Unfortunately, I was unable to find a good copy of it on YouTube, but a copy of the short can be accessed by clicking on the image above.

The next two shorts are new to me.

The first short, "Wind Mills," was made and directed by Guillaume Bergère, Guillaume Courdert, Maria Glinyanova, Bruno Guerra, and Charlotte Jammet at the Georges Méliès school as a graduation movie.

It is beautifully made with a hauntingly surreal soundtrack. The minimal dialogue toward the end of the film is roughly translated as "'We have enough wind to go!' 'I'm staying with your mother...leave without us' 'I don't want to go without you!'" (as taken from the comments section of the YouTube video).

This last short is a heart-wrenching one entitled Emi, written by Gwendoline Ancelin, that tells the story of a young girl, her father, and a momentous decision.

The last screen before the credits reads: "The greatest gift that we can give, is the gift of self..."

Culinary Adventures - Flour Tortillas & Creamy Homemade Taco Sauce

I LOVE having the house to myself. It gives me the opportunity to experiment and cook different things undisturbed. I've made homemade tahini, coconut butter, and taco sauce and I've experimented with various dishes as well.

Today's experiment was for homemade flour tortillas. I've been playing with the idea of making my own tortillas for a while now. I actually wanted to make tortillas as a precursor to making pita bread from scratch. They use basically the same ingredients, except pita bread requires yeast to make them more thick and bread-y. 

The tortillas actually turned out pretty well. They were a bit thicker than I wanted but that can easily be remedied by rolling them out thinner. We had them with shredded rotisserie chicken, refried beans, cabbage, shredded cheese, and some of my homemade taco sauce. Yum!

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Made-from-scratch Flour Tortillas

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour plus 1/4 cup flour for rolling

1 heaping tsp salt

6 tbsp softened butter

3/4 to 1 cup hot/warm water

Directions:

Mix butter into flour until fully incorporated. Dissolve salt into hot/warm water and slowly add to flour mixture until soft ball forms. Knead for two to three minutes. Roll dough into 2" thick log, cut into twelve equal pieces (for 6 to 8 inch tortillas), and roll into balls. Cover with plastic wrap or slightly damp towel and let rest for 20 minutes to one hour. On lightly floured surface, roll each dough ball into thin circles. Cook tortillas on pre-heated, ungreased griddle or non-stick pan for 30-60 seconds on each side or until bubbles form. Stack tortillas in dish towel to keep warm and pliable. Unused tortillas can be stored in a sealed plastic bag for two days at room temperature or up to one week refrigerated.

Creamy Homemade Taco Sauce

Ingredients:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

2-3 tbsp lime juice, to taste

1/4 tsp vinegar

1/4 tsp ground sumac*

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp dried dill weed

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together in one pint jar. Refrigerate for at least 30 mins before use for all flavors to blend together. Keeps up to one week in the refrigerator.

*Sumac is a spice made from ground sumac berries. It has a tart, berry-lemony taste and is traditionally used in Middle Eastern dishes. Sumac can be used as a substitute to lemon when the flavor, and not the acidity, of a lemon is needed. 

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken Enchiladas...

The words bring to mind images of childhood on those rare occasions when my mom used to cook for us, back when she didn't really care much about processed and fatty foods. It was a treat for me and my sisters when our mom cooked because she'd usually work afternoons/evenings four days a week including every other weekend (she was a nurse, now retired) and we rarely got to see her or spend much time with her as we were growing up. One of the dishes I remember her making most often was chicken enchiladas. Her chicken enchiladas were pretty basic, shredded chicken mixed with olives and sometimes corn, sour cream and mayo, no cream cheese, no chilies, and corn tortillas instead of flour, but they were smothered in cheese and they were delicious.

I randomly decided to make enchiladas for dinner one day when I was bored and wanting something "different" to eat. I scoured Pinterest for "easy" chicken enchilada recipes and combined a few different ones to come up with my own version. Because I decided to cook them last minute, I didn't have any chilies or olives on hand but they still turned out great. James, who usually has some complaint about what I cook (usually that everything I cook is Italian-ish and all tastes the same) said it was the best dish I've ever made. To prove that, he had enchiladas for dinner AND breakfast AND lunch the next day.

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Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:

Salt and pepper (to taste)

2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (equal to ~2 cups shredded)

1 8oz pkg cream cheese or neufchatel cheese, softened or 1 cup sour cream

1 small can black olives, diced

1 small can green chilies, diced*

12 10-inch flour tortillas

1 large can enchilada sauce

3 cups Mexican blend shredded cheese

2 Tbs olive oil (or as needed)

Directions: 

Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, saute chicken in olive oil for 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Add 1/2-inch water to pan. Cover and simmer for additional 5 minutes. Take off heat and let steam in covered pan for 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer chicken to large bowl and shred. Add cream cheese, diced olives, and diced green chilies and mix until well blended.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a separate skillet, warm tortillas to prevent cracking when rolling. Pour about 1/2 cup enchilada sauce into bottom of 9 x 13 baking dish. Spoon mixture into tortillas, roll and place in baking dish, seam side down. Cover with remaining enchilada sauce and top with shredded cheese. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until cheese is hot and bubbling. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

**green chilies have very little heat and will add depth and flavor to the dish

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To make the dish healthier, neufchatel cheese or 1 cup Greek yogurt can be substituted for the cream cheese and whole wheat tortillas, instead of flour. I would say use less cheese but what's an enchilada if it isn't smothered in cheese??