Wishing a Happy Father's Day to all.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Sunday Soup
Recently, the food offered by the cafeteria at work has gone down in quality and up in price. I also find myself buying fried stuff way too often. Therefore, I've decided that I need to bring my lunch more often. Given everything else going on in my life, I've realized that the only way that this is going to happen is if I make soup every Sunday. I might add some other leftovers in here and there, but rather than coming up with more complicated entries, I'm going to stick with soup for now. It's cheap, it's easy, and it makes a big batch. What more could I ask for?
This week's soup is a recipe that my MIL gave me several years ago. I make this a couple of times a year. My MIL likes it served cold with dill. I like it warm with lots of ground pepper and croutons. It's a very flexible and forgiving soup, and you can flavor it anyway you'd like. Just add the seasonings at the end, after you've pureed the soup.
Pureed Carrot Soup
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 leeks (or onion, but it's better with leeks)
a couple of cloves of garlic, to taste
1 lb. carrots
3 med. potatoes
1 box of fat-free chicken broth (or veggie broth)
1 bayleaf
Chop all the vegetables. In the bottom of a soup pot, heat the oil. Add the chopped leek and saute until almost soft. Add the garlic and saute another minute or two. Add all of the other ingredients. Add enough water if needed to cover the vegetables. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Cook until carrots and potatoes are soft.
REMOVE THE BAY LEAF.
Using a hand blender, puree the soup. Add a little more water if the consistency is too sticky. Serve hot or cold.
This week's soup is a recipe that my MIL gave me several years ago. I make this a couple of times a year. My MIL likes it served cold with dill. I like it warm with lots of ground pepper and croutons. It's a very flexible and forgiving soup, and you can flavor it anyway you'd like. Just add the seasonings at the end, after you've pureed the soup.
Pureed Carrot Soup
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 leeks (or onion, but it's better with leeks)
a couple of cloves of garlic, to taste
1 lb. carrots
3 med. potatoes
1 box of fat-free chicken broth (or veggie broth)
1 bayleaf
Chop all the vegetables. In the bottom of a soup pot, heat the oil. Add the chopped leek and saute until almost soft. Add the garlic and saute another minute or two. Add all of the other ingredients. Add enough water if needed to cover the vegetables. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Cook until carrots and potatoes are soft.
REMOVE THE BAY LEAF.
Using a hand blender, puree the soup. Add a little more water if the consistency is too sticky. Serve hot or cold.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
11th Grade Books
Ah, the 11th grade. It was one of those years. I started school having had a complete makeover, and no one really noticed. It was also the year I landed in Miss K's English class. I can't say it was a completely miserable year, but it also wasn't very fun. Miss K was also the advisor for two of the afterschool clubs I belonged to. I couldn't escape her. I remember getting into a nasty fight with her about some activity (not course-related) during the year. I'm not one who gets into nasty fights, but she just rubbed me the wrong way.
11th grade was the year we moved further away from the course compendium volume and into more full length books for class. We read 8 or 10 that year. We read Alive. We read the Merchant of Venice. We read a bunch of books. We even were allowed to chose, as a class, one of the readings. That's how we ended up with Rebecca, and not Lord of the Flies. We were the first class in many years to read Rebecca, because our class was 1o girls and 2 boys (my entire h.s. class was only 100 students). After reading Alive, we weren't going to touch Lord of the Flies.
I read Rebecca straight through in two days. Why? Because I wanted to know the second Mrs. DeWinter's first name. In case you're wondering, it's not mentioned anywhere. I was *horrified* that she wasn't named. Even then, I knew that names were important. She had no identity except as an attachment to some other person. Looking back, I can see how reading Rebecca was my inaugural feminist moment. I still cringe, although less visibly now, when somebody calls me "Mrs."
To Kill a Mockingbird - one of the great masterpieces of American literature. A powerful book. An amazing movie. I'm always stunned when I discover friends who haven't read it. I've given it as a gift on more than one occasion. Despite all that, part of the reason it will always stick goes back to Miss K. You see, she got her revenge on us upstart teenagers. After we read the book, she showed us the videotape in class. There we were, on a Friday, watching the 2nd or 3rd installment, when she stops the tape a few minutes before the bell's to ring. And about 3 seconds before we get to see Boo Radley behind the bedroom door. Argh!!!!
The end of 11th grade was a different type of turning point for me. I spent the summer abroad as an exchange student and learned that I could escape the labels and the roles into which I'd been cast in the 4th grade and become someone I wanted to be. Senior year was bearable because I knew I'd be going away again soon.
11th grade was the year we moved further away from the course compendium volume and into more full length books for class. We read 8 or 10 that year. We read Alive. We read the Merchant of Venice. We read a bunch of books. We even were allowed to chose, as a class, one of the readings. That's how we ended up with Rebecca, and not Lord of the Flies. We were the first class in many years to read Rebecca, because our class was 1o girls and 2 boys (my entire h.s. class was only 100 students). After reading Alive, we weren't going to touch Lord of the Flies.
I read Rebecca straight through in two days. Why? Because I wanted to know the second Mrs. DeWinter's first name. In case you're wondering, it's not mentioned anywhere. I was *horrified* that she wasn't named. Even then, I knew that names were important. She had no identity except as an attachment to some other person. Looking back, I can see how reading Rebecca was my inaugural feminist moment. I still cringe, although less visibly now, when somebody calls me "Mrs."
To Kill a Mockingbird - one of the great masterpieces of American literature. A powerful book. An amazing movie. I'm always stunned when I discover friends who haven't read it. I've given it as a gift on more than one occasion. Despite all that, part of the reason it will always stick goes back to Miss K. You see, she got her revenge on us upstart teenagers. After we read the book, she showed us the videotape in class. There we were, on a Friday, watching the 2nd or 3rd installment, when she stops the tape a few minutes before the bell's to ring. And about 3 seconds before we get to see Boo Radley behind the bedroom door. Argh!!!!
The end of 11th grade was a different type of turning point for me. I spent the summer abroad as an exchange student and learned that I could escape the labels and the roles into which I'd been cast in the 4th grade and become someone I wanted to be. Senior year was bearable because I knew I'd be going away again soon.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Books I Read in 7th Grade
If 4th grade was the year I became a reader, then 7th grade is the year I began to devour books. It's the year that I branched out from reading children's chapter books to reading more young adult and adult novels. I don't think that there was any one event that triggered this, although I can think of several contributing factors.
7th grade is the first year that I really remember having specific assigned readings that were books. The Hobbit was one of them. One of the others was And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. I read Ice Castles for a book report. (There, I just dated myself!) I didn't really enjoy the assigned readings, and truly did not get into The Hobbit. But I did enjoy another book given to me to read by the same teacher - A Separate Peace. This is one of the first "serious" books I read, which is how it made the 15 list.
What's odd about me not liking The Hobbit, is that I read a lot of fantasy. Many of the Tolkein's followers are authors that I love. Because of my dislike of The Hobbit, I didn't read The Lord of the Rings Trilogy until shortly before the movies came out. I didn't enjoy reading the LOTR trilogy, either, but I love the movies.
In any case, A Wrinkle in Time was a fantasy I read in 7th grade that I loved. I've read nearly all of L'Engle's work, including the nonfiction, and she's one of my favorite all time writers. I couldn't believe it when I was able to meet her when I was in college. She was the first really famous person I'd ever met. (I just thought about the number of children's book authors I've met in person. Given that only a couple of the meetings were at book signings, it's actually a fairly impressive group.)
7th grade is the first year that I really remember having specific assigned readings that were books. The Hobbit was one of them. One of the others was And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. I read Ice Castles for a book report. (There, I just dated myself!) I didn't really enjoy the assigned readings, and truly did not get into The Hobbit. But I did enjoy another book given to me to read by the same teacher - A Separate Peace. This is one of the first "serious" books I read, which is how it made the 15 list.
What's odd about me not liking The Hobbit, is that I read a lot of fantasy. Many of the Tolkein's followers are authors that I love. Because of my dislike of The Hobbit, I didn't read The Lord of the Rings Trilogy until shortly before the movies came out. I didn't enjoy reading the LOTR trilogy, either, but I love the movies.
In any case, A Wrinkle in Time was a fantasy I read in 7th grade that I loved. I've read nearly all of L'Engle's work, including the nonfiction, and she's one of my favorite all time writers. I couldn't believe it when I was able to meet her when I was in college. She was the first really famous person I'd ever met. (I just thought about the number of children's book authors I've met in person. Given that only a couple of the meetings were at book signings, it's actually a fairly impressive group.)
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Books I Read as a Small Child
In my post on 15 books that have stuck with me, I included Little Mommy by Sharon Kane (a Little Golden Book), the Little Golden Books' version of Jingle Bells (pre-school), and the Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Why do I remember these?
Jingle Bells is hard to forget. This made my list, though, because of a photo. One year, probably the year I turned four, my mother took a photo of me in my rocking chair reading this. Despite the fact that the photo was taken during the summer, Mom sent it out that year with our Christmas Cards. I still have several copies of this.
The Little House books made the list for two reasons. They are among the first books I read for myself and not as a school assignment and signal the point at which I really became a reader. They are also among the books I re-read every summer until I was in college.
Why do I remember these?
Jingle Bells is hard to forget. This made my list, though, because of a photo. One year, probably the year I turned four, my mother took a photo of me in my rocking chair reading this. Despite the fact that the photo was taken during the summer, Mom sent it out that year with our Christmas Cards. I still have several copies of this.
The Little House books made the list for two reasons. They are among the first books I read for myself and not as a school assignment and signal the point at which I really became a reader. They are also among the books I re-read every summer until I was in college.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
May Cards
I'm a little late in posting this. Here's the card I made for May. May is always a busy month for me now. Between Mother's Day and all 3 of my sisters-in-law having birthdays, I need a lot of cards. I'm in the process of working on my June cards for Father's Day and male birthdays. At least the guys' birthdays are spread out throughout the year. Then in July, I need to work on cards for kids birthdays, as all of the children to whom I give cards have birthdays between August and December.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Stuck on 15
This week's Booking Through Thursday question is: “This can be a quick one. Don’t take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you’ve read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes.”
Here are mine in the order in which I remembered them. I've included information about when I read them, because there are patterns. I plan to do a follow up post to discuss why some of these stick.
1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (11th grade)
2. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (7th grade)
3. Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier (11th grade)
4. Crazy for You by Jennifer Crusie (post grad school)
5. Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury (college)
6. A Separate Piece by John Knowles (7th grade)
7. The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley (college)
8. Patriot's Dream by Barbara Michaels (college)
9. Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes (post grad school)
10. A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley (grad school)
11. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (7th grade)
12. The Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder (4th grade)
13. Little Mommy by Sharon Kane (pre-school)
14. The Little Golden Books' version of Jingle Bells (pre-school)
15. Gabriela, Cravo e Canela by Jorge Amado (college)
Here are mine in the order in which I remembered them. I've included information about when I read them, because there are patterns. I plan to do a follow up post to discuss why some of these stick.
1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (11th grade)
2. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (7th grade)
3. Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier (11th grade)
4. Crazy for You by Jennifer Crusie (post grad school)
5. Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury (college)
6. A Separate Piece by John Knowles (7th grade)
7. The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley (college)
8. Patriot's Dream by Barbara Michaels (college)
9. Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes (post grad school)
10. A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley (grad school)
11. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (7th grade)
12. The Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder (4th grade)
13. Little Mommy by Sharon Kane (pre-school)
14. The Little Golden Books' version of Jingle Bells (pre-school)
15. Gabriela, Cravo e Canela by Jorge Amado (college)
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