Today's soup was Cold Weather Potato Chowder with Caraway Cheese (although I was unable to find havarti with caraway seeds in our small town and had to use plain havarti). The side dish was Roast Beef and Watercress with Horseradish Cream on Dark Bread.
The soup received 5 thumbs up. The sandwich received 4 thumbs up, although it would have had five if the red onion hadn't been so potent.
(We exlude LW from voting on the grounds that he fails to meet the basic requirement of tasting the food. He wouldn't even eat the crispy bacon on top because it was touching an onion.)
The chowder is pretty basic, except for the havarti. It also had a different thickening method than I've used in the paste--stirring in a paste made of room-temperature butter and flour at the very end of the cooking process.
As for my cooking skills, I've decided I need to chop faster. Maybe I should follow Julia Child's example and spend a day simply chopping.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Sunday Soup
For Christmas, Michael followed my extremely detailed hint (can sending an Amazon link via ICQ count as a hint?) and bought me Sunday Soup.
I'd seen it in a local store around Thanksgiving and fell in love with the idea. One soup recipe for every week of the year, divided by seasons. Since I love soup, cook dinner on Sundays, and aspire to eat more food in season, this book seemed like a great fit. I've decided to cook my way through the book this year.
According to the author, Winter starts in December and lasts three months, but since March feels nothing like spring around here, I've decided to cook the winter soups in January, February, and March and push the other seasons back one month each.
Today I made White Bean Soup with Chorizo and Kale with Arugula Salad Tossed with Olive Oil and Lemon on the side. (Yes, the book even recommends side dishes and provides recipes.)
Overall, I'd give this soup two thumbs up. NB wasn't thrilled, but he's my pickiest normal eater. EM and IM both had seconds.
I'd seen it in a local store around Thanksgiving and fell in love with the idea. One soup recipe for every week of the year, divided by seasons. Since I love soup, cook dinner on Sundays, and aspire to eat more food in season, this book seemed like a great fit. I've decided to cook my way through the book this year.
According to the author, Winter starts in December and lasts three months, but since March feels nothing like spring around here, I've decided to cook the winter soups in January, February, and March and push the other seasons back one month each.
Today I made White Bean Soup with Chorizo and Kale with Arugula Salad Tossed with Olive Oil and Lemon on the side. (Yes, the book even recommends side dishes and provides recipes.)
Overall, I'd give this soup two thumbs up. NB wasn't thrilled, but he's my pickiest normal eater. EM and IM both had seconds.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
2010 Reading Catch-up
I knew I was behind on blogging about my reading, but I am shocked at how far behind. These will be quick summaries.
The Help--Possibly the best book I read this year. All three narrators have great voice, and the subject is fascinating.
Life Skills--Mindless fluff by my favorite fluff author.
97 Orchard Street--A serendipitous find in August about the inhabitants of a NYC tenement that is now a museum (and which was already on the itinerary for my September trip). A look at how the various immigrant waves changed the food of America.
The Town that Food Saved--A look at how the locavore movement changed one town in Vermont. Motivating.
The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen--I had completely forgotten about this book until I saw it on the list. Pleasant, but clearly not memorable.
Mockingjay--The book I was most anticipating this year. A satisfying conclusion to this great trilogy (although I wanted Katniss to end up with the other guy), but not as strong as the other two books.
The Tapestries--Interesting story set in early twentieth-century Vietnam. Compelling, but overly graphic at times, which made it a tough read for me.
Childhood's End--Classic science-fiction at its best. Interesting premise, sparse language. Haunting.
Eat, Pray, Love--Not as annoying as I feared it would be. (I read this for book group.) I liked Eat and Pray better than Love.
When the Emperor Was Divine--YA novel about one family's experience in a Japanese internment camp in Utah. Notice the use or lack of names. The scene where the woman kills their old dog the night before they leave made me cry.
The Message--A verse-by-verse paraphrase of the Bible. I'd been wanting to read the Bible cover to cover in a short period of time to get a better sense of the overall structure and flow, and with The Message I finally found a version that I could read quickly enough to accomplish that. Ninety days, give or take. I liked the paraphrase best for the history and prophets. It bothered me more in the New Testament. Reading the Bible always raises more issues than it resolves for me, and this was no exception.
Nomad--Fascinating look at the issues raised by Muslims immigrating to the West, by a former Muslim (now atheist) immigrant. I'm not convinced that converting to mainline Christianity is a key part of the solution--it seems to me that Islam could moderate itself just as mainline Christianity has done--but I agree with many of her other points. The final chapter is the weakest part of the book.
Murder in a Mill Town, Murder on Black Friday, Murder in the North End, A Bucket of Ashes, Still Life with Murder--Several years ago, I accidentally read book three in a six-book mystery series set in Gilded Age Boston. Michael gave me book two for Christmas, and I then found electronic versions of the other four books. They remind me a bit of early Anne Perry novels.
Water for Elephants--I started reading this right before I began The Message and finished it in December. Despite my disjointed reading of it, I really like this book. The narrator has a great voice, and the look at Depression-era circuses is interesting.
There. All caught up. I'll try not to get so far behind again.
I'm currently reading The Lightening Thief and The Brothers Karamazov.
The Help--Possibly the best book I read this year. All three narrators have great voice, and the subject is fascinating.
Life Skills--Mindless fluff by my favorite fluff author.
97 Orchard Street--A serendipitous find in August about the inhabitants of a NYC tenement that is now a museum (and which was already on the itinerary for my September trip). A look at how the various immigrant waves changed the food of America.
The Town that Food Saved--A look at how the locavore movement changed one town in Vermont. Motivating.
The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen--I had completely forgotten about this book until I saw it on the list. Pleasant, but clearly not memorable.
Mockingjay--The book I was most anticipating this year. A satisfying conclusion to this great trilogy (although I wanted Katniss to end up with the other guy), but not as strong as the other two books.
The Tapestries--Interesting story set in early twentieth-century Vietnam. Compelling, but overly graphic at times, which made it a tough read for me.
Childhood's End--Classic science-fiction at its best. Interesting premise, sparse language. Haunting.
Eat, Pray, Love--Not as annoying as I feared it would be. (I read this for book group.) I liked Eat and Pray better than Love.
When the Emperor Was Divine--YA novel about one family's experience in a Japanese internment camp in Utah. Notice the use or lack of names. The scene where the woman kills their old dog the night before they leave made me cry.
The Message--A verse-by-verse paraphrase of the Bible. I'd been wanting to read the Bible cover to cover in a short period of time to get a better sense of the overall structure and flow, and with The Message I finally found a version that I could read quickly enough to accomplish that. Ninety days, give or take. I liked the paraphrase best for the history and prophets. It bothered me more in the New Testament. Reading the Bible always raises more issues than it resolves for me, and this was no exception.
Nomad--Fascinating look at the issues raised by Muslims immigrating to the West, by a former Muslim (now atheist) immigrant. I'm not convinced that converting to mainline Christianity is a key part of the solution--it seems to me that Islam could moderate itself just as mainline Christianity has done--but I agree with many of her other points. The final chapter is the weakest part of the book.
Murder in a Mill Town, Murder on Black Friday, Murder in the North End, A Bucket of Ashes, Still Life with Murder--Several years ago, I accidentally read book three in a six-book mystery series set in Gilded Age Boston. Michael gave me book two for Christmas, and I then found electronic versions of the other four books. They remind me a bit of early Anne Perry novels.
Water for Elephants--I started reading this right before I began The Message and finished it in December. Despite my disjointed reading of it, I really like this book. The narrator has a great voice, and the look at Depression-era circuses is interesting.
There. All caught up. I'll try not to get so far behind again.
I'm currently reading The Lightening Thief and The Brothers Karamazov.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Some questions have easy answers
Me, complaining to the piano music: How many fingers do you think I have?
LW: Ten, Mommy. You have ten fingers.
LW: Ten, Mommy. You have ten fingers.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Toys I Am Not Buying My Kids for Christmas
I'm browsing Amazon's toy section, looking for ideas for LW. Here's what I'm shaking my head over tonight:
* Wild Planet Spy Gear Night Goggles--The last thing I want is a toy that encourages my five-year-old to stay up late.
* Crayola Color Wonder Sound Studio--Who had the brilliant idea to turn coloring into an electronic activity?
* Bacon Band Aids--Why?
* Wild Planet Spy Gear Night Goggles--The last thing I want is a toy that encourages my five-year-old to stay up late.
* Crayola Color Wonder Sound Studio--Who had the brilliant idea to turn coloring into an electronic activity?
* Bacon Band Aids--Why?
Saturday, October 16, 2010
They're Around Here Somewhere
3:00--Guest calls to say she and her family are coming up for a wedding today and staying with us. (Someone else booked, and is paying for, their room.) Do we know where the wedding is? Michael says we can give her directions if she knows the name of the venue. She doesn't. She hangs up.
6:00--Guest arrives with her family right as we are sitting down to dinner. She still doesn't know where the wedding is and seems to think this is our problem. Michael's calls to the person who booked the room go unanswered. The guest says it has something to do with a farm, so Michael calls around. The X Barn has a wedding, but it's the wrong one. The X Barn mentions that the Y Barn also has a wedding today. Michael calls the Y Barn, but no one answers. Since it is only a 15 minute drive, he circles our location and the Y Barn on the map. Guests seem a little confused about the idea of a map, but after many repetitions of the directions, they set off. Shortly after, Michael takes a call from someone with the wedding, who confirms that it is at the Y Barn.
7:50--Man calls from the wedding asking if we have seen the guests, since they have not arrived yet. I forward him through to their room just in case, although I think it unlikely that they would return here without coming to ask for something.
So the question is, where are they? And will we see them again?
6:00--Guest arrives with her family right as we are sitting down to dinner. She still doesn't know where the wedding is and seems to think this is our problem. Michael's calls to the person who booked the room go unanswered. The guest says it has something to do with a farm, so Michael calls around. The X Barn has a wedding, but it's the wrong one. The X Barn mentions that the Y Barn also has a wedding today. Michael calls the Y Barn, but no one answers. Since it is only a 15 minute drive, he circles our location and the Y Barn on the map. Guests seem a little confused about the idea of a map, but after many repetitions of the directions, they set off. Shortly after, Michael takes a call from someone with the wedding, who confirms that it is at the Y Barn.
7:50--Man calls from the wedding asking if we have seen the guests, since they have not arrived yet. I forward him through to their room just in case, although I think it unlikely that they would return here without coming to ask for something.
So the question is, where are they? And will we see them again?
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
What the kids are saying today
LW is trying to communicate with me without using words. It's frustrating for both of us.
IM: Why did I have to get Mauritius for my report? It's the only African country with no problems and [teacher] expects half the report to be about problems!
NB: I've figured out a way for telepathy to be scientifically possible. You know how your brain communicates with your body electronically? Well . . .
EM is saying precious little today, although he did divulge that they are studying the Opium Wars in history and that his mouth feels slightly better than it did yesterday.
IM: Why did I have to get Mauritius for my report? It's the only African country with no problems and [teacher] expects half the report to be about problems!
NB: I've figured out a way for telepathy to be scientifically possible. You know how your brain communicates with your body electronically? Well . . .
EM is saying precious little today, although he did divulge that they are studying the Opium Wars in history and that his mouth feels slightly better than it did yesterday.
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