Reading: As a member of 2 book clubs, I am often asked, and often ask others, "Whatcha readin'?" It seems readers like to talk about what they are reading and to find out what others are reading, mainly to get more ideas to stack on the nightstand. I like talking about books (thus 2 book clubs) and recommended books to other people. I don't recommend the same books to everyone but try to figure out what they would like. Here are some of my recent reads:
In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan - You may recall one of my book clubs read The Botany of Desire by the same author earlier this year. I missed the discussion of that book due to illness in the house but it seems it was not a popular book. I found In Defense to be better written, easier to follow. Perhaps he had the benefit of a better editor or a more cohesive idea for a book this time. The subtitle of this one is "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." He defines what constitutes food (no big surprise, most of the "food" in the grocery store is not really food, so much as manufactured goods) and goes on to tell you why. It was a pretty interesting book, though I think there is a lot out there these days about "clean eating" and similar concepts. It made me think about what I eat and about all the nutrition buzz we hear constantly everywhere. It made me think about how we receive contradictory messages about what is "good for you" and wonder how did humankind survive all this time before nutritionists started telling us what to eat? And why, when the experts started telling us what we should eat, did we all start to get fat? Overall, good food for thought. Sorry, couldn't resist the pun.
I read Dewey: the small-town library cat who touched the world by Vicki Myron in the middle of the summer. I liked this book a whole lot. Such an endearing story of a pretty amazing cat and how he really did touch the world from the library in a town few outside the Midwest have heard of (Spencer, Iowa). As with any true-life pet story, tears are guaranteed.We meet Dewey Readmore Books when he is found in the book drop on a bitterly cold morning with his paws severely frostbitten, and follow his story through the political struggles to keep him at the library, through his naughty antics and picky habits as well as his warm social nature, watching as he repairs relationships and brings people from around the world to the library.
The Friday night dinner/book club decided after reading Dewey to continue on an animal theme and we read We Bought a Zoo by Benjamin Mee next. I have not seen the movie but from those who have seen the movie and read the book, the book is, as usual, better. If you are unfamiliar with the story (or have only seen the movie), it is the non-fiction story of a British family who bought a broken down zoo and how they repaired and rebuilt it. Not only are there struggles with the animals, but also with the banks and regulatory officials as the family fights to secure the money they need to make the repairs they need to get pass the inspection they need to open the zoo so that they can make money to keep the zoo going. (I know, you are impressed with my seriously long run-on sentence.) And in the midst of this, the author's wife, mother to his 2 young children, has a recurrence of a serious brain tumor. I found myself becoming distraught, not knowing if they were going to make it and have a successful zoo, all while learning about how zoos and animal conservation work, and knowing in the back of my mind that of course it will all work out. Won't it?
I re-read a childhood favorite by my favorite author, Judy Blume. I must have read Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great more than a dozen times, but haven't read it in probably over 25 years. Yet as soon as I opened to the first page, I knew these sentences by heart, as if I had read them just a week before. Loved it just as much now as then.
So those are just a few of the books I have read in the last two months. More on the others at another time.
Eating: It is apple season. We picked several pounds at the orchard last week with our friends and their five-year-old daughter. E and I got a large bag of Haralsons for baking and a smaller bag of Connell Red for eating. When we got home, the little one and I got busy baking apple cupcakes. She loves to run the Apple Peeler/Corer/Slicer and is big on stirring, also. She made one of the cupcakes extra big, stating that was for E, and helped stir when I was making the frosting. We used Grandma Nellie's Apple Cake recipe with the caramel frosting. Super tasty, especially when the cupcakes are still warm or reheated. This was the first time I had made this recipe (first blogged about on A is for Apple Cake) and it took a little trial and error to figure out how long to bake cupcakes versus a 13x9 cake but I think it was around 30 minutes. Set the timer for 20 minutes and add 3-4 minutes as needed until the cupcakes spring back when you touch them in the middle. The caramel frosting is SO GOOD.
Tonight I will make some apple crisp and plan to make some applesauce too. I will use some of the applesauce to make the applesauce streusel muffins. Expect a future blog post with apple recipes.
Weeding: The asters are a sea of deep purple and the sedum is various shades of red. The green/burgundy leaves of the penstemon are a lovely bright red now and some of the mums are blooming again. There is a bit of color in the garden yet! There is a bit of clean up to be done as well, and we have started to harvest potatoes on an "as-needed" basis. I need to figure out what to do with all the carrots and it is probably time to pull out the tomato plants. It is a beautiful warm day, so I will leave you now and go out to the garden.
Enjoy the autumn!
Until we eat again,
Hallie
Showing posts with label Botany of Desire. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Botany of Desire. Show all posts
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Ideas to warm you on a cold winter day
Reading: Since the last reading update, I have finished 2 books and started a third. Should be reading another one but since I haven't picked it up from the library yet, that has been difficult!
The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan - I didn't get a chance to discuss it with book club because E was quite ill so I stayed home to tend to him and make sure he didn't keel over. He's fully recovered now, thanks for asking. Anyway, I liked the first part of the book pretty well, thought the second part wasn't very good at all, and then enjoyed the third and fourth parts. Overall I liked it, but if I had stopped reading after the second part, I would not have said that. As you may remember from my previous post, the author's intention was to tell the history of 4 plants (the apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato) that satisfy four fundamental human desires (sweetness, beauty, intoxication and control), and to discuss how the plants have evolved to satisfy us and how the plants have benefited from us. In the apple section, he got to the point of this discussion on the evolution but spent a whole lot of time on the personal life of Johnny Appleseed. It seemed like he was more interested in telling that story than in presenting his stated objective. The tulip (second) section could have been written much better (keeping the focus, sticking to the stated intentions) - I felt like I missed a big part of the story there and that he never really got to the point. The author's passion for marijuana was fairly evident in the third section - this is a story that he really was interested in. He did a great job of telling the evolutionary and historical parts of the story as well as sticking to the intentions of the book. I also enjoyed learning about the science behind intoxication. The last section, potato, was also very good, and got into the genetically modified plants. It made me never want to eat another store-bought potato again as long as I live. I would recommend this book, but caution you not to give up after the first or second sections.
Lake of Sorrows by Erin Hart - I liked it better than I remembered liking it when I read it before. That being said, I still am not a mystery fan. As I told E about 3/4 of the way through the book, the thing I don't like about murder mysteries is that there is always so much murder. I mean, really, how many people have to die in one book? Stay away from people who know people who have been murdered - you are likely to end up dead yourself, apparently. I liked the Ireland landscape and culture parts of the book, and I kept reading because I couldn't remember how it all tied up in the end. One further complaint about this book - there were waaaayyy too many characters and I had to constantly try to remember how they were all related to each other and to the story. We are reading the 3rd book by Erin Hart for Friday night book club - False Mermaid. Stay tuned to see what I think of that.
The other book I am reading this month is Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne. What better way to spend a cold (and I mean COLD) week, than snuggling up with a childhood classic? This is the volume of the Pooh collection where we are introduced to the silly old bear himself, as well as Piglet, Rabbit (Pooh gets stuck in Rabbit's door after a honey eating binge in the second story in the book), Owl, Eeyore (who has a birthday and gets 2 presents), Kanga and Roo. I will probably need to read House at Pooh Corners next.
Eating: I received a new recipe in my e-mail at work (from the Delicious Recipes of Hartford list that I am on) on Wednesday and tried it that same day. A tasty, hearty new soup recipe (only needed one bowl of this to fill me up), it was also pretty easy. I microwaved the potatoes to save time and had some cooked, crumbled bacon in the freezer from the last time I had a pound and only used part of it. I am presenting it not as it was written but as it "should" be made, per my Mother Sauces cooking class, seasoning last. Note that in my abbreviations, T means "Tablespoon" and t means "teaspoon".
Baked Potato Soup
4 large baking potatoes
3 T butter
2 T olive oil
1/2 C chopped onion (I did not add)
1/2 C chopped celery
1/2 C flour
6 C milk
1 C Velveeta, cubed
1/2 C sour cream
1/4 C cooked bacon crumbles
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
Bake the potatoes (I "baked" mine in the microwave. You can also bake them in the oven at 350 for about an hour or until softened.). Let cool slightly.
In a large sauce pan, melt butter and add olive oil. Saute onion and celery until onion is transparent. Add flour - stir over medium heat until lightly browned. Add milk and stir constantly until just boiling (may need to reduce heat to prevent scorching). Remove from heat. Peel potatoes and mash slightly; add to milk mixture. Add Velveeta, sour cream and bacon. Stir until cheese is melted. Season with garlic powder, salt and pepper, to taste.
Creating: I am picking up speed on the bass. I started learning a blues progression - that is going to take some serious practice. I play a little each day after work, and have been watching my "How to play electric bass" DVD. I am thinking I will be playing in a band sometime really soon. Ha-ha!
I have been knitting a bit on my socks, some while on vacation. And thinking about starting those Christmas presents...
Not much creating happening lately, I guess.
In other news, I am now on Pintrest and have been pinning away. I started a board called "Things I don't like but other people seem to love" which kind of makes me laugh. This board could get really full. Right now there are a couple books and music, as well as yoga, but could expand greatly if I start adding things like TV shows. My other boards are more productive and represent things I enjoy, similar to this blog. There are books I have read (starting with this year, may expand back in time eventually), books I have really enjoyed (may or may not be some crossover between the lists), books I think I would like to read, places to travel to someday, recipes and some home decor and creative project ideas. It is kind of fun to add things and see what is out there. The web is wide!
Eat soup, stay warm and enjoy a good book.
Until we eat again,
Hallie
The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan - I didn't get a chance to discuss it with book club because E was quite ill so I stayed home to tend to him and make sure he didn't keel over. He's fully recovered now, thanks for asking. Anyway, I liked the first part of the book pretty well, thought the second part wasn't very good at all, and then enjoyed the third and fourth parts. Overall I liked it, but if I had stopped reading after the second part, I would not have said that. As you may remember from my previous post, the author's intention was to tell the history of 4 plants (the apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato) that satisfy four fundamental human desires (sweetness, beauty, intoxication and control), and to discuss how the plants have evolved to satisfy us and how the plants have benefited from us. In the apple section, he got to the point of this discussion on the evolution but spent a whole lot of time on the personal life of Johnny Appleseed. It seemed like he was more interested in telling that story than in presenting his stated objective. The tulip (second) section could have been written much better (keeping the focus, sticking to the stated intentions) - I felt like I missed a big part of the story there and that he never really got to the point. The author's passion for marijuana was fairly evident in the third section - this is a story that he really was interested in. He did a great job of telling the evolutionary and historical parts of the story as well as sticking to the intentions of the book. I also enjoyed learning about the science behind intoxication. The last section, potato, was also very good, and got into the genetically modified plants. It made me never want to eat another store-bought potato again as long as I live. I would recommend this book, but caution you not to give up after the first or second sections.
Lake of Sorrows by Erin Hart - I liked it better than I remembered liking it when I read it before. That being said, I still am not a mystery fan. As I told E about 3/4 of the way through the book, the thing I don't like about murder mysteries is that there is always so much murder. I mean, really, how many people have to die in one book? Stay away from people who know people who have been murdered - you are likely to end up dead yourself, apparently. I liked the Ireland landscape and culture parts of the book, and I kept reading because I couldn't remember how it all tied up in the end. One further complaint about this book - there were waaaayyy too many characters and I had to constantly try to remember how they were all related to each other and to the story. We are reading the 3rd book by Erin Hart for Friday night book club - False Mermaid. Stay tuned to see what I think of that.
The other book I am reading this month is Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne. What better way to spend a cold (and I mean COLD) week, than snuggling up with a childhood classic? This is the volume of the Pooh collection where we are introduced to the silly old bear himself, as well as Piglet, Rabbit (Pooh gets stuck in Rabbit's door after a honey eating binge in the second story in the book), Owl, Eeyore (who has a birthday and gets 2 presents), Kanga and Roo. I will probably need to read House at Pooh Corners next.
Eating: I received a new recipe in my e-mail at work (from the Delicious Recipes of Hartford list that I am on) on Wednesday and tried it that same day. A tasty, hearty new soup recipe (only needed one bowl of this to fill me up), it was also pretty easy. I microwaved the potatoes to save time and had some cooked, crumbled bacon in the freezer from the last time I had a pound and only used part of it. I am presenting it not as it was written but as it "should" be made, per my Mother Sauces cooking class, seasoning last. Note that in my abbreviations, T means "Tablespoon" and t means "teaspoon".
Baked Potato Soup
4 large baking potatoes
3 T butter
2 T olive oil
1/2 C chopped onion (I did not add)
1/2 C chopped celery
1/2 C flour
6 C milk
1 C Velveeta, cubed
1/2 C sour cream
1/4 C cooked bacon crumbles
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
Bake the potatoes (I "baked" mine in the microwave. You can also bake them in the oven at 350 for about an hour or until softened.). Let cool slightly.
In a large sauce pan, melt butter and add olive oil. Saute onion and celery until onion is transparent. Add flour - stir over medium heat until lightly browned. Add milk and stir constantly until just boiling (may need to reduce heat to prevent scorching). Remove from heat. Peel potatoes and mash slightly; add to milk mixture. Add Velveeta, sour cream and bacon. Stir until cheese is melted. Season with garlic powder, salt and pepper, to taste.
Creating: I am picking up speed on the bass. I started learning a blues progression - that is going to take some serious practice. I play a little each day after work, and have been watching my "How to play electric bass" DVD. I am thinking I will be playing in a band sometime really soon. Ha-ha!
I have been knitting a bit on my socks, some while on vacation. And thinking about starting those Christmas presents...
Not much creating happening lately, I guess.
In other news, I am now on Pintrest and have been pinning away. I started a board called "Things I don't like but other people seem to love" which kind of makes me laugh. This board could get really full. Right now there are a couple books and music, as well as yoga, but could expand greatly if I start adding things like TV shows. My other boards are more productive and represent things I enjoy, similar to this blog. There are books I have read (starting with this year, may expand back in time eventually), books I have really enjoyed (may or may not be some crossover between the lists), books I think I would like to read, places to travel to someday, recipes and some home decor and creative project ideas. It is kind of fun to add things and see what is out there. The web is wide!
Eat soup, stay warm and enjoy a good book.
Until we eat again,
Hallie
Monday, December 26, 2011
What's on the shelf today?
Reading: You may have been wondering what I am reading right now. Maybe not, but I have noticed there are quite a few people who regularly ask me what I am reading. And I kind of like talking about what I have on the shelf currently. ("on the shelf" is not meant literally. My current books are usually in a pile by my bed or in various rooms in which I have dropped them off after reading a few pages.)
Sunday night bookclub is reading The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan. This non-fiction book tells the history of 4 plants (the apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato) that satisfy four fundamental human desires (sweetness, beauty, intoxication and control). I have finished the section on the apple. The author shows how plants have evolved to satisfy human needs, and also how the plants have benefited from us as well, asking the question of who is really domesticating whom? So far, so good.
The former "breakfast club" that now meets for dinner has been assigned to read Lake of Sorrows by Erin Hart. This is the author's second book, a follow up to Haunted Ground (aka "the head in a bog" book), and this time involves bodies in a bog. These books take place in Ireland and are part murder mystery, part romance, part history/archeology lesson. They are pretty good. We read the first one for Sunday bookclub a few years back (may have also read the second one - I can't remember off the top of my head) and people seem to like them. I am kinda of "meh." about them, myself.
Creating: I made a kind of cool hat for my brother-in-law for Christmas but now realize I didn't take any pictures. Will have to beg my sister to send some for me... I tried a new-to-me technique on this hat, which, in retrospect, may not have been the best idea when making a gift for someone. It turned out pretty well but I was learning as I went. It was made like a traditional hat in shape but was double knit, which makes it double thickness and also reversible. I would do my decreases differently next time (the second row of decreases went better than the first) and would finish it off differently, but overall it looks okay, I think.
A new kind of "creating" has entered my life - creating music on the electric bass guitar E gave me for Christmas. It is beautiful, shiny and red. The amp came with headphones so only I have to hear myself practice until I know what I am doing. I went out tonight to buy a battery for the tuner because I could tell it was not tuned but couldn't hear where it needed to be. Now the tips of my fingers are sore and I know a little how to play it, at least how to hold it and play some basic notes. Look for me on tour soon - haha!
Eating: This was mostly a weekend of other people cooking for me. I don't mind, really! E made dinner on Friday (Christmas Eve Eve) - steaks with bourbon thyme sauce and mashed potatoes. So yummy! Recipe is from Food Network - recipe says 8 steaks, but after you cook them to medium, you save 4 of them for another meal. We make 2 steaks (because there are two of us, duh!) but all the sauce because it is super tasty and makes good gravy.
Seared Steaks with Bourbon-Thyme Pan Sauce
Heat 1 Tbls olive oil in a large skillet. Season 8 boneless steaks (ribeye, sirloin, etc.) with salt, freshly ground pepper, and 1 Tbls dried thyme. Sear 2 minutes per side until golden brown. Add 1/2 C bourbon and cook 1 minute. Add 1/2 C beef broth and bring to a simmer. Cook 2 minutes, until cooked to medium. Remove steaks from pan and transfer 4 of them to a serving platter. Reserve 4 steaks for another meal.
Dissolve 1 Tbls cornstarch in another 1/2 C beef broth and add to pan. Simmer 1 minute, until sauce thickens. Spoon sauce over steaks before serving.
Saturday night (Christmas Eve) we had meatballs with E's family. His mother seasons her meatballs with ginger and nutmeg (I asked - I thought I had detected nutmeg but would not have guessed the ginger). They are really tasty meatballs.
Sunday (Christmas Day) we had soups with my mom and step-dad. How I love soup (you may have already guessed that from my previous 2 or more soup posts...)! We had corn chowder, and a new one - Italian chicken noodle. As Mom said, it's chicken noodle with Parmesan cheese and basil. So yummy. Quite the tasty holiday overall.
Hope your Christmas was tasty as well!
Until we eat again,
Hallie
Sunday night bookclub is reading The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan. This non-fiction book tells the history of 4 plants (the apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato) that satisfy four fundamental human desires (sweetness, beauty, intoxication and control). I have finished the section on the apple. The author shows how plants have evolved to satisfy human needs, and also how the plants have benefited from us as well, asking the question of who is really domesticating whom? So far, so good.
The former "breakfast club" that now meets for dinner has been assigned to read Lake of Sorrows by Erin Hart. This is the author's second book, a follow up to Haunted Ground (aka "the head in a bog" book), and this time involves bodies in a bog. These books take place in Ireland and are part murder mystery, part romance, part history/archeology lesson. They are pretty good. We read the first one for Sunday bookclub a few years back (may have also read the second one - I can't remember off the top of my head) and people seem to like them. I am kinda of "meh." about them, myself.
Creating: I made a kind of cool hat for my brother-in-law for Christmas but now realize I didn't take any pictures. Will have to beg my sister to send some for me... I tried a new-to-me technique on this hat, which, in retrospect, may not have been the best idea when making a gift for someone. It turned out pretty well but I was learning as I went. It was made like a traditional hat in shape but was double knit, which makes it double thickness and also reversible. I would do my decreases differently next time (the second row of decreases went better than the first) and would finish it off differently, but overall it looks okay, I think.
A new kind of "creating" has entered my life - creating music on the electric bass guitar E gave me for Christmas. It is beautiful, shiny and red. The amp came with headphones so only I have to hear myself practice until I know what I am doing. I went out tonight to buy a battery for the tuner because I could tell it was not tuned but couldn't hear where it needed to be. Now the tips of my fingers are sore and I know a little how to play it, at least how to hold it and play some basic notes. Look for me on tour soon - haha!
Eating: This was mostly a weekend of other people cooking for me. I don't mind, really! E made dinner on Friday (Christmas Eve Eve) - steaks with bourbon thyme sauce and mashed potatoes. So yummy! Recipe is from Food Network - recipe says 8 steaks, but after you cook them to medium, you save 4 of them for another meal. We make 2 steaks (because there are two of us, duh!) but all the sauce because it is super tasty and makes good gravy.
Seared Steaks with Bourbon-Thyme Pan Sauce
Heat 1 Tbls olive oil in a large skillet. Season 8 boneless steaks (ribeye, sirloin, etc.) with salt, freshly ground pepper, and 1 Tbls dried thyme. Sear 2 minutes per side until golden brown. Add 1/2 C bourbon and cook 1 minute. Add 1/2 C beef broth and bring to a simmer. Cook 2 minutes, until cooked to medium. Remove steaks from pan and transfer 4 of them to a serving platter. Reserve 4 steaks for another meal.
Dissolve 1 Tbls cornstarch in another 1/2 C beef broth and add to pan. Simmer 1 minute, until sauce thickens. Spoon sauce over steaks before serving.
Saturday night (Christmas Eve) we had meatballs with E's family. His mother seasons her meatballs with ginger and nutmeg (I asked - I thought I had detected nutmeg but would not have guessed the ginger). They are really tasty meatballs.
Sunday (Christmas Day) we had soups with my mom and step-dad. How I love soup (you may have already guessed that from my previous 2 or more soup posts...)! We had corn chowder, and a new one - Italian chicken noodle. As Mom said, it's chicken noodle with Parmesan cheese and basil. So yummy. Quite the tasty holiday overall.
Hope your Christmas was tasty as well!
Until we eat again,
Hallie
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