A Rat in the Kitchen and more

No, there wasn’t one in mine, but I wouldn’t be shocked to find a dead one there someday. No, I’m talking about that cute rat movie, Ratatouille. We saw it last weekend through a website that streams videos and things and happened upon a screening that had been uploaded. We didn’t even realize that it wasn’t out yet. Ooops. But we hooked up the S-video to our tv and watched the film. Pixar has done well.
The movie is about a rat, Remy, who isn’t satisfied with just garbage to eat and becomes infatuated with the chef du jour, Chef Gasteau, whose philosophy is “Anyone can cook.” Remy’s ability to taste and smell wonderful foods are not wholly appreciated by his rat clan, yet they are his family. He ends up traveling to Paris and ends up in the kitchen of Gasteau’s restaurant, helps a hapless boy become a talented chef by pulling on his hair and well, any more and I would spoil the rest of the story.
It’s well voiced and a cute story but the real star, for me anyway, is the food and the restaurant. They really hit the nose with the set-up of the restaurant and the food presentation. It’s a really great showcase of a restaurant kitchen. The attention to detail is impressive. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to have Thomas Keller as a consultant, but still. It’s a great food film and it will leave you hungry. Plus the animation ain’t so bad either. It’s very old-style, which is nice.
If you like to cook, go see this movie. Don’t be squicked out by the idea of rats in the kitchen. It’s really not that bad. (They get cleaned.)

With all that, I felt like cooking this past weekend. I made a pork loin stuffed with goat cheese and mango, wrapped in bacon. To go with it, I made an Asian-flavored slaw.
Ingredients:
Red cabbage, shredded
Green cabbage, shredded
Shaved carrot
Scallions, diced
Bell peppers, all colors, diced
Sesame seeds, toasted preferably
Sesame oil
Rice wine vinegar
A little bit of sugar
Lime juice
Salt
Pepper

Mix all ingredients together, to taste. I have no idea how much I used. I just added stuff until it tasted ok to me. Let sit for a few hours, it will get better the longer it sits. Really. Mix every time you walk by the bowl. Enjoy.

I also made pickles this weekend. Recipe to come as they came out really yummy and spicy-garlicky. Good stuff.