Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Library Loot




Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.


I stopped in the library to return some books. Since I had a moment to browse I took advantage of it.
I've heard a lot about Jio's books. I've never read her books before so when I spotted this one it was easy to grab it.
I've seen some positive reviews on this one. 
I enjoyed Snow Flower and the Secret Fan so I want to read more of See's work.
Another I've heard good things about. 
I've been waiting for this one for a while.

What did you get this week?

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Kick-Ass Heroines





Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.


This week's topic is Kick-Ass Heroines.

I think Katniss will be on a lot of lists today. Not only does she protect those she cares about, she's a great shot with that bow!
Armed with her trusty umbrella there isn't any supernatural Alexia can't handle.
I got into The Gardella Vampire Chronicles because Victoria is similar to my other favorite slayer, Buffy. Victoria dispatches vampires with her own stake, that her maid hides in her hairdo!
Findley's a bit of a bad ass. She's still trying to learn to control her urge to hurt but girl can lay a whooping on boys who get fresh with her.
Lisbeth fascinated me when I read The Millenium series. She was and is unlike any other character I've ever read. 
As a knight, Toby gets sent on a lot of quests and has plenty of opportunities to both kick ass and get her ass kicked. I love her sarcastic sense of humor.
Georgia kicks ass with her words, not with her fists. As a blogger after the zombie uprising, Georgia searches for the truth in all the noise. 
I think Hermione's going to be on a lot of lists today too. Hermione's awesome. She's loyal friend, a great spell-caster and she stands up for what she believes in.

Who's on your list?

Monday, October 29, 2012

Pin It And Do It Challenge: The Catch Up Post

So I've been making some of my pins but been lax on posting them. So here's what've been up to.

I pinned these cookies because they looked good. I made them for 2 different parties.
The original pin:

Here are mine:
They are delicious. Mine were flatter than hers. She does mention that humidity affects the cookies and make them flatter.

It quickly became fall around here. I love making soup. I had my eye on making this beef barley soup:

But I didn't like some of the ingredients. I left out the corn, bell pepper, and onion. But it was delicious anyway.
It made it tons. We had few bowls the day of and plenty of leftovers. I would definitely make it again.

I love roasted potatoes so when I spotted this recipe, I knew I had to make it.
Here's the original pin:

Here's mine:
So tasty. We really liked this one. It takes some time. It's not a weeknight dish but worth the effort on a weekend.

Plus the four other dishes I made, I did 7 pins this month. All food pins, no crafts pins :(

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Weekend Cooking: Shucked by Erin Byers Murray

I grabbed Shucked off the library shelf because I love me some oysters. I wanted to learn more about oysters and Shucked looked like a good book to do that. Yes and no, but definitely more yes.
Erin is in her 30's, has a good job (an editor for Dailycandy.com), and a loving husband. Yet Erin feels like she is missing something. One night, Erin meets a man who works for a oyster company. She's intrigued. She decides to investigate leaving her job to become an oyster farmer. And for nearly 2 years, Erin works for Island Creek Oyster company, growing, harvesting, and marketing oysters.
Like Erin, I've had dreams of chucking my job aside. For a time, I wanted to become a carpenter. As part of my job back then, I would put together IKEA-type desks that went to needy families. I got to put the desk together and see a happy family cart it off. Usually one of the children would be so happy to have a space to do homework or color. When the rest of my job didn't see such clear results, the desk building gave me a lot of satisfaction. One day the donor of the magical desks decided to no longer offer the desks and I had no more desks to build. On a drive home after that,  I noticed a handmade wood furniture store. I'd spend hours there, browsing, fantasizing about making wood furniture. One day, I noticed they were hiring. But they were only hiring for sales staff but I finally asked if they ever hired people to build the furniture. My bubble was crushed. The furniture was really made by machine in a factory somewhere. None of it was "handmade". I've since let go of my carpenter dream and refocused my passions elsewhere. But I know tons of people who dream of being cheese makers, dairy farmers, and speciality food store owners. Few actually jump out of the rat race to do it.
Anyway, back to Erin's story. Erin went from "hey I like oysters" to "I know everything about oysters". And I learned a lot while reading Shucked. I learned how oysters grow. I learned that oysters taste sweeter as winter approaches because they are storing glucose for the winter. I learned that where an oyster lives can change the taste of the oyster. Oysters are fascinating little creatures and I'm glad I learned more about them.
Oyster farming is hard work as I imagine all farming is. Erin woke up at 3am and spent twelve hours in the water, either harvesting or "planting" oysters some days. Erin hardly saw her husband and it strained their marriage. I was glad she spent as much time as she did explaining what this adventure did to her marriage, both good and bad. There were parts that were more about Erin and her dealing with this life she choose. I didn't feel like she whined. She did talk a lot about how her body ached, how her skin was swollen from all the water, and how disgustingly dirty she would get from the work. Overall I think she gave up one great job for another. While it was hard work, she seemed to find genuine satisfaction with it.
I enjoyed Shucked. If you fantasize about leaving your corporate, 9-5, cubicle life for one that involves growing anything, pick this up. It might not force to stay at your job but it might give a realistic view of how hard your life might become. Also there are recipes about how to cook and prepare oysters, lobsters, clams, and scallops. Yum!  Others who shared their thoughts on Shucked: The PescoVegetarian Times, International Recipe Syndicate, and Wine Skinny.


Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

This is my thirteenth  read for Foodies Read 2 Challenge.

Friday, October 26, 2012

Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry

My friend, Jen, loaned me Gathering Blue, the next in The Giver Quartet since she saw I read The Giver. I'm so glad she did. I loved Gathering Blue.
Kira lives in a community that shuns those who are disabled. Kira has a bad leg which requires her to use a cane. When a child is born with a disability, Kira's community leaves them to die in The Field. But Kira's mom saved her. After Kira's mom passes away, Kira's place in her community is vulnerable.
I really liked Kira. She was strong and proud. It really made think about how we treat people with disabilities. Kira's community didn't think those with disabilities could be productive members of society. Obviously since they left any disabled person to die in The Field. But Kira has a gift, one her community has been waiting for. Kira becomes special to her community and given an elevated status. But when she is sheltered from the community at large, is she any better off?
Just like The Giver, Gathering Blue really made me think. How do we decided who has value in a community? How do we exclude those that we think have less or no value? Are we selling some people short? Should we look at how we define value? The thing I liked about Gathering Blue is that it makes you think but doesn't give you answers. I had a ton of questions at the end but was left to draw some of my own conclusions.
Overall, I enjoyed Gathering Blue and would definitely recommended it. I read Messenger, the next in The Giver quartet and will be reviewing it soon. Others who shared their thoughts on Gathering Blue: Jules' Book Review, The Written World, Owl Read It, and Everlilly.Net

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Pin It And Do It Challenge: Easy Thai Coconut Soup with Lemongrass

Tai had requested that I learn to make his favorite Tom Ka Gai soup. While browsing for a good recipe, I found this similar recipe using my crockpot. I decided to give it a whirl. While it wasn't Tom Ka Gai soup it was very close.
Here's the original pin:

Here's how mine turned out:
Mine is more red then hers because I doubled the Thai curry. It was spicy but delicious. Perfect for a rainy day.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Library Loot





Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.



Olduvai Reads has been reading this series. Looked good so I picked it up.

What did you get this week?

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Top Ten Tuesday: Books To Get In The Halloween Spirit



Top Ten Tuesday
 is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's topic is books to get in the Halloween Spirit.
A book about a boy who lives in a graveyard. Delightfully creepy.
I found this one to be romantic and creepy.
I enjoyed this historical fiction set in Massachusetts during the witch trials.
I love this deliciously creepy graphic novel series. 
This great series about vampires taking over the world is creepy and sometimes a little scary.
I love this wonderful story about Kit who moves from Barbados to Connecticut. I love to reread it all the time.
One of my favorite reads of last year. 
Such a funny story about a woman who dies unexpectedly.
One of my favorite Stephen King stories.
A wonderful graphic novel about Jack the Ripper.

What books put you in the Halloween mood?

Monday, October 22, 2012

Pin It and Do It Challenge: No Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I pinned these cookies because it's always good to know how to make something when you are missing an ingredient. How many times have I run out of butter and wanted to make cookies? Now I know how.

Here are mine:
Absolutely delicious. I didn't even notice the lack of butter. I think the extra chocolate chips make it hard to notice the lack of butter.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Weekend Cooking: More Make It Fast, Cook It Slow by Stephanie O'Dea

I'm so glad I picked up More Make It Fast, Cook It Slow. I've been cooking more crockpot meals. Makes life so much easier. I love O'Dea's recipes.
I've made three recipes from it so far, but I only took pictures of this one meal: Greek Ribs and Roasted Broccolette with Garlic.
So yummy. The meat was tender and flavorful. Broccolette was in our Full Circle box that day. I had to look up a recipe for the broccolette. It was delicious.
I also made the Dry Rub Ribs (closest recipe I could find, add a tsp of cinnamon) and Crockpot Creamy Red Potatoes. Delicious. I made the potatoes ahead of time then heated up them up when it was time to eat. Both were delicious again.



Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

This was my twelfth read for Foodies Read 2 Challenge.

Friday, October 19, 2012

Witch Child by Celia Rees

My friend, Jen, loaned me Witch Child. She stuck a note on it saying it was one of her favorites-a blend of historical fiction and supernatural. I'm so glad she did. I completely missed this wonderful book when it came out in 2000.
Witch Child starts in England. Mary lives with grandmother. But her grandmother is accused of witchcraft. As Mary's grandmother is found guilty, Mary is whisked away by a benevolent stranger. This woman takes Mary to another village, then to a ship bound for America. I love to read of people's journeys to America. I can imagine them on the ship, waiting to spy land, their new home. I love the sense of adventure but also the hardships they endured to get here. It reminds me that we all have tough roads on our journeys through life.
As historical fiction goes, Rees does an excellent job. She blends fiction with historical facts so well. I could see how the Puritans reacted to the trials of ship life as well as how they reacted to landing in America. Plus the characters are so richly written. Mary is headstrong and unsure of her own heritage. Martha is dependable but afraid of being thought a witch. Rebekah and Tobias are faithful friends to Mary, assisting her. I can't imagine moving to another country, alone. Mary was lucky to have strangers help her and take her in like family. I imagine that was not the luck of every orphan.
I would definitely recommend Witch Child. It's outstanding historical fiction with a tint of the supernatural. Others who shared their thoughts on Witch Child: The Book Smugglers, Read for Your Future, The Book Rat, and SisterSpooky.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Pin It and Do It Challenge: Nikujaga (Meat and Potatoes)

I pinned this recipe because it seemed like a hearty stew reminiscent of sukiyaki. I liked how it was part sukiyaki and part stew. It was delicious. I will be making this one again.
Source: norecipes.com via Linda on Pinterest

Here's mine:
I left out the noodles but it was still delicious!