by Eric Huber | Jul 1, 2012 | Helping, Life
One of the biggest adjustments, for me, becoming vegan (or at least more healthy) was NO MORE CHEESE DIP!!!
In fact, nearly all the creamy dishes always contained milk, butter, or cheese in varying proportions.
It’s only been a year since I’ve made the shift. I can’t claim to be vegan, as I generally have some sushi rolls weekly and a steak once every other month or so. But this morning, while making hashbrowns, I was craving cheese.
Cheesy hashbrowns, to be exact!
What I used to say to vegans, as a carnivore, was, “Why do you keep making things that are like meat products?!” Faux Sausage. Fake Burgers. Fake Hot Dogs. The list is long. MAKE UP YOUR OWN DISHES!
After a year, I can tell you, it’s nearly impossible to completely shed the culture we live in. Backyard grilling. Fast food. Commercials. There are just no avocado sandwich or mushroom burgers on the menu at McDonald’s (not that I would personally eat a mushroom burger).
But I digress.
Today, I wanted some cheesy hashbrowns. And I’m going to share the ingredients and approximate proportions. My wife tried it and loved it. And she is a hardcore vegan after being a vegequarian for years.
Eric’s Cheesy No-Cheese Sauce
- 1/2 cup of Cashews (or cashew pieces) (Add more for thicker sauce)
- 1/2 cup of Almond milk
- 1/2 teaspoon of chipotle seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon of onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
Mix all ingredients in a blender. Pour into sauce pan and warm.
The idea is, cashews and almond milk give a creamy texture and the garlic, onion, and salt help with the cheese flavor. Adding the chipotle, cumin and pepper give it an extra kick and more along the lines of a cheese dip.
These measurements are approximate. Cause, well… I winged it.
ENJOY! We did.
by Eric Huber | Jun 12, 2012 | Fiction, Inspiration, Writing
Stumbled across this little gem. Apparently, one of the story artists at Pixar, Emma Coats, tweeted a whole series of ‘story basics’ that she learned on how to create appealing stories from her senior colleagues. This article is a little old from May 2011 and is from http://www.pixartouchbook.com.
#1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.
#2: You gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to do as a writer. They can be v. different.
#3: Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about til you’re at the end of it. Now rewrite.
#4: Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.
#5: Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.
#6: What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?
#7: Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.
#8: Finish your story, let go even if it’s not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time.
#9: When you’re stuck, make a list of what WOULDN’T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up.
#10: Pull apart the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you; you’ve got to recognize it before you can use it.
#11: Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea, you’ll never share it with anyone.
#12: Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.
#13: Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it’s poison to the audience.
#14: Why must you tell THIS story? What’s the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That’s the heart of it.
#15: If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.
#16: What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against.
#17: No work is ever wasted. If it’s not working, let go and move on – it’ll come back around to be useful later.
#18: You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining.
#19: Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.
#20: Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How d’you rearrange them into what you DO like?
#21: You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can’t just write ‘cool’. What would make YOU act that way?
#22: What’s the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.
As I really begin my journey into writing, I found this very inspiring. And since I have loved everything that Pixar has done, this is just fuel for the fire.
by Eric Huber | Apr 11, 2012 | Life, Random Thoughts, Writing
Why is it that so many archaeological discoveries are automatically attributed to be temples and places of worship? Gobekli Tepe, a HUGE area of buildings, predates Stonehenge by 6000 years (messing up general historic timelines for human development) and they say it’s a temple??
Will archaeologists of the future uncover our shopping malls and believe it to be plazas dedicated to the worship of individual gods? The god Nike, Apple, Kohls, Target, Dillards, and Tropical Smoothie…the god of brain freezes? It’s obvious that our shopping malls deal with the ‘divine.’ Just look at the temple of Victoria! Here we see angels!
Will our modern day stadiums be viewed as places of weekly worships where we would re-enact ancient battles every week, display the holy pigskins, speak in tongues, and each participant would wear the holy ornaments of the animal gods that the battle participants adorned? So pervasive is this religion of fuutball, that the youth are indoctrinated at a very young age at mini-religious fields in communities, schools, and colleges.
Maybe Göbekli Tepe wasn’t a temple. Maybe it was a series of training pods for some activity we’ve long forgotten.
Just my opinion.
______________
Other sources:
Gobekli Tepe
by Eric Huber | Feb 17, 2012 | 365 Quotes, Creativity, Life, Quotes
In a move I haven’t made since the very first day of the year, I’m using my own quote.
It has often been suggested that while, as the human race, we have learned more as we focus intently on subject, it’s possible that we are completely blind to things going on around us. What do you think?
Does the ant see the city or focus on the crumbs?
– Eric Huber
Downloadable PDF
Eric Huber on Focus (8″x8″ PDF)
You are free to print and share, but not to sell.
by Eric Huber | Feb 14, 2012 | 365 Quotes, Creativity, Inspiration, Quotes
If you have the creative urge, it isn’t going to go away. But sometimes it takes a while before you accept the fact.
– Hugh Macleod
Downloadable PDF
Hugh Macleod on the Creative Urge (8″x8″ PDF)
You are free to print and share, but not to sell.
