[food/drink] Goat cheese tart.

Via Carrie Cappizano...

Chop and caramelize two large onions, and fold them into one and a half large logs of goat cheese (EDITED TO ADD: Okay, not all logs are the same size; I will check how big these were.), with black pepper and rosemary to taste. Use a lot of rosemary if you want to be able to taste it.

Bake a 9" pie crust and fill it with the mixture, then bake again at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Tastes great. Is great. Serves about 10 as a side dish or 4 as an entree. The latter is less prudent, though not less enjoyable.

My notes for next time: (1) Chop onions smaller or use higher heat so it doesn't take over an hour to caramelize them. (2) Maybe warm the goat cheese before mixing onions in; as it was the mixture was tough enough that trying to mush it down into shape in the pie plate damaged the crust a little.

N (downloadable Flash for Windows/Mac/Linux -- free)

Download here or see pretty screenshots here.

"You are a ninja. Your god-like speed, dexterity, jumping power and reflexes are all the result of an amazingly fast metabolism; sadly, so is your natural lifetime of 1.5 minutes."

N falls into an old, old category of games-- you have a tiny character who runs, jumps and climbs around one-room levels collecting gold-- but it feels nothing like, say, Lode Runner due to its physics simulator, which strives for high realism except when it comes to the things you yourself can do (like sticking to walls or jumping a hundred feet from a standing start). This means a lot of falling to your doom as you soar around the screen and then miss one of the toeholds you need. And yet, at least in the levels I've played, the game is curiously forgiving-- the guard cannons' targeting crosshairs appear onscreen so you can see exactly how long you have before they find you, and while the time limit always feels pressing, you never suddenly run out of time in the middle of a run where everything else was going fine.

Getting the Ninja Wall Jump down perfectly requires more practice than I've been able to give it yet, but the game otherwise achieves an excellent balance between puzzle-solving and action. Plus, it feels GOOD in a way that not enough video games do: gold pieces shimmer away into the air as you collect them (each adding two seconds to your minimal lifespan), your stick-figure ninja has just enough detail to always look simultaneously agile and relaxed, and the laser cannons singe the air so satisfyingly that even when one hits you, it's cute. (If you don't like stick-figure violence you will hate this; passing a level usually means being flattened or blown up a dozen times while you figure out the best path through.) The game includes internet high-score submission, which is interesting less so you can compete with the internet (the internet has more free time than you do and has gotten way too good at this game) and more because you can watch replays of the highest scorers' games for any level you want if you get stuck.