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

Reading: I am still working on that pile of books, and I have now picked up The Handmaid's Tale to re-read. This, of course, is the book that I am flying through. It has probably been 8 years since I first read Handmaid's Tale. It freaked me out then and is doing so again on this reading. It is just so real and so many things, especially lately, seem to be similar to events in the book.

This weekend was so beautiful that I spent the whole weekend outside, planting, weeding, mulching, ripping up grass and putting in flowers. I love this time of year! My lilac bush, only a year old, is covered in buds and I noticed this morning that it is starting to bloom! Maybe I will change this blog to Reading and Eating and Gardening.

Eating: Summertime is a whole different eating experience than winter is. Last night, we grilled steaks and potatoes. We are still working out way through the quarter of beef that we got a while back and have about 5 packs of steaks left. We marinated the big T-bones overnight so they were extra juicy, tender and tasty. This is the marinade I use for many things: 1/4 C. soy sauce, 1/4 oil, 2 cloves of garlic pressed, fresh ground black pepper, 2 T. ketchup, 1T vinegar. The potatoes I peel and slice with my Apple Peeler/Corer/Slicer from Pampered Chef. Using a piece of foil for each serving of potatoes, I spray the foil with oil from the Kitchen Spritzer (also Pampered Chef). Salt, pepper, fresh pressed garlic, whatever seasonings I find (I have a salt-free dried herb mixture I bought at the Farmer's Market that is excellent for potatoes), a little onion, chopped carrot (if desired. This is the great part about these potatoes--everyone gets his own packet so they can be made to taste.). Seal up the foil and put on the grill a little after the steaks. They cook in the same time the steaks take and taste delicious.

Another great easy summertime "recipe" is pasta salad. In the time it takes to boil noodles, you can have a hearty summer meal! I used rotini pasta, chopped carrots, cubed ham from the deli, real bacon bits, shredded cheddar (I keep big bags of cheese in the freezer to use as needed. Handy and no worries of green cheese). Drain and cool the pasta under cold running water. Mix all together and add dressing. I used Ranch but I would think any kind would be good. I sprinkled sliced almonds on top (Dole now has seasoned sliced almonds--look for them in the produce dept. at your grocery store!). Yummy! We ate this as a meal.