My Bit of Earth

Isola's Letter Writing Club

For...maybe a year now, I've had a back-burner obsession with becoming a better letter writer.

The inspiration began with books. Guernsey, of course, and more recently The Wednesday Letters, but also a few bloggers, see e.g. Tea and Post.  Perhaps second to Guernsey, but more important than all the rest, my own shoe box of saved letters has also been calling to me.

[From top left to right: A stack of thank-you notes ready to go out...a letter from my dad on my 18th birthday...a Valentine's letter from my grandmother...the hospital bill from when I was born (my dad found it and sent it as a joke sometime before the Kid was born)...the Kid's birth announcement...my wedding invitation...a letter from my grandfather on my high school graduation.]

I have a saved folder of important emails, but somehow it doesn't have the same tang as these letters.  The choice of paper, the handwriting....my Grandfather has been dead for many years, but seeing that signature I can almost hear his voice in the next room.  And my dad's bright post-it notes, always fluttering along with things he sends, like baby tropical birds....

So, I want to start writing letters.  And I would like some company--hence Isola's Letter Writing Club.  (Eponymous of my favorite Guernsey character--really, if you haven't read it, you need to!)  

The plan is this:  If you want to join up, send me an email with your address.  (My email is blackbird13[at]gmail[dot]com.)  For however many of us there are, I'll match up pen pals.  Then, on the 20th of each month for 2012, we sit down and write a letter.  Just a letter.  You can type it or write on pretty stationery or scrawl on notebook paper--whatever pleases you best, but I really want it to be about the letter, so no other bits and bobs necessary.

I'll help out with some writing prompts, because that's always the part I have trouble with.  Also, if you're inclined to send excerpts or photos of your letters (or just letter writing emphera in general) I'll post some here for fun.  (Also, I've started a flickr group.) 

If you're "in" drop my an email by the 10th of this month.  I'm a bit excited about it, so I hope some of you are game!  I've got everyone all paired up, so sign-ups are closed now.  If you missed out this time, I'm sorry!  If it goes well maybe we can do another round, eh?

Too Bad She's Already Dead (Of Course)

I know exactly how it started, and--in hindsight--I should have known just where it would lead.  I was still on maternity leave, and I discovered that getting myself ready to go out was easier if I sang to the Kid as I did it.  Songs with lots of verses require less thought, so my go-to became "I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly".

Well imagine, if you were on a new planet where you didn't speak the language or understand the customs, but you kept hearing the same song over and over again.  Eventually, you'd start to be like, "Oh hey!  I know that song!  Yay!"  And then if you were a little upset or bewildered, "Oh good--finally something I recognize!"

And that's how we got where we are.  Although some other songs will work for mild displeasure, for true upset, no other song will do.  (Oh believe-you-me we have tried!)  It has to be that one.

About a month ago we started adding to the "official verses".  ("What a mistake, she swallowed a snake".)  Two weeks ago, even more.  ("Just on a lark, she swallowed a shark....served a la mode, she swallowed a toad....check out that mama, she swallowed a llama....")  And now we've gotten even sillier with the order of things.  ("She swallowed the ant to catch the cow, she swallowed the cow to catch the cat, she swallowed the cat to catch the spider....")  As long as it's sung with proper gusto, it apparently doesn't matter how many ways we kink up the food chain.

As you might guess, we're very tired of the Old Lady.  If she weren't already dead, I'd probably wring her neck.  Or shoot her, or stab her, or push her off a cliff.

I was discussing this problem with Nice Friend Moxie the other day when she said she was in the process of making her small one, a.k.a. The Cupcake, her own playlist of songs that don't make grown-ups want to kill people in violent ways.  I decided that was brilliant, and began working on a similar list for the Kid.

So far, we have a "fun" list and a "lullabies" list.  

For fun?  A lot of The Beatles, Jimmy Buffett, Ingrid Michaelson, Jack Johnson...some Simon and Garfunkel (Sweet Husband loves "Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard" and my favorite is "Red Rubber Ball")...and even (a not horrible version of) The-Song-That-Must-Not-Be-Named.

For lullabies?  A bit more of many of the above mentioned, with some Ella Fitzgerald, Wailin' Jenny's, Dixie Chicks, The Weepies, and, of course, "Dream a Little Dream" by Mamas and The Papas.

I'm hoping that maybe--by making some other songs just as familiar--we can gradually, shovel-by-shovel-full, bury that Old Lady deep in the ground where her rotting corpse belongs!

Reading, Loving (Mostly) Food Books

I haven't been reading all that much this Summer, but nonetheless, a few winners have slipped into the house....and somehow they seem to be food related.  (Because, no matter how busy you may be, you have to eat, right?)  

*  Super Natural Every Day: Well-loved Recipes from My Natural Foods Kitchen

My relationship with meat is a tricky one.  I go through phases where I don't even like it much, but I don't know how to really structure a meal without it.  I'm good at making vegetarian one-dish meals (pasta, pizza, soup) but the whole main course with sides thing--it just feels out of whack to have two or three different vegetables staring up from my plate.

Which is why we've been cooking out of this book for going-on two weeks now.  There's some pasta, but even that has a different twist--e.g. the yummy soba noodles with black sesame paste, pictured above.  And--although there is some tempeh, which I'm not a fan of--a lot of the main dishes are more creative than just "take-meat-out, insert-soy-product".  We've had the chanterelle tacos, also pictured above, twice now.  So tasty, and they certainly don't leave you feeling like you're missing anything.

And, I almost forgot the popcorn!  There's an entire chapter on snacks, which includes a recipe for popcorn with herbs and mustard-butter.  We might just get through our stash of Boy Scout popcorn this year (you know, before they start selling again) and it's all due to that recipe!

*  Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing

Hopefully this isn't too contradictory, but--as we've been eating our lovely vegetarian tacos--a pork belly has been turning to pancetta in our basement.  There will be more news about that when it's finished, of course, but for now I'm really excited about this book.  It has directions for just about any cured meat you would want to make--sausages, bacon, prosciutto--and it's very not-scary and low-tech.  

(And would you all please pray for me that our defenses hold, and Moe does not end up running through the house with a half-cured slab of pancetta in his mouth?  Thanks.)

*  Feeding the Whole Family: Cooking with Whole Foods

Part of the reason I love our family doctor is because she's so laid back.  She's never said it in so many words, but the vibe I get from her is, "You guys seem like good parents.  Your kid is healthy.  So, chances of you doing something that kills him?  Pretty small."  On food, her position was, "Start him with fruits and vegetables.  One new food at a time.  And have fun with it."

And that is exactly what we've been doing.  However, although it may seem easy to just puree the entire grocery store produce section, eventually it's nice to get some outside ideas.  Like, did you know that you can make basically any grain into a cereal?  (And that toasted grain cereal tastes awesome, even if you're not six months old?)  

Plus, it's nice to have a reference book around for the inevitable questions that come up--should we start with egg yolks or egg whites?  (Yolks.)  What are easy finger foods that won't choke him to death when we're ready for that?  And so on.

I'm a little wary of it coming across as preachy, but--at least, for any mama-to-be who had already let me know she was interested in making her own baby food--this would make an awesome shower gift.

*  The Rhythm of Family: Discovering a Sense of Wonder through the Seasons

The hot-off-the-press newest SouleMama book.  This one is a lot more like her first book, in that it has plenty to make and do, but it's more about nudging your own creativity than it is a "how-to".  Maybe it's a side-effect of having my own wee-bub now, but I appreciate the bits of parenting inspiration and stories more than I have in her other books.  Curling up to read it in a quiet house with a sleeping baby and pups made for the coziest evening of reading....and it even included a few Soule family recipes, which I think makes it fair game to include in a post about (mostly) food books!

It's Hot....Play the Ukulele

A few years ago, after listening to too much Ingrid Michaelson, I decided I wanted to learn to play ukulele.  At the time, we were trying to get pregnant, it was the start of the holiday season, and I think I was having Rockwelllian visions of us all sitting around singing Christmas carols.  

Because he is mostly fond of me, Sweet Husband did the necessary research and presented me with a pretty little uke for my birthday.

What you have to understand is, I played instruments (flute and bass guitar--what a combo!) for about ten years of my life.  How hard could it be to pick up another one, right?  

I did not count on the fact that I hadn't looked at a piece of music since my junior year of college.  The frustration of having to re-learn things that I felt like I should know, plus the fact that I have too many hobbies anyway, led to my uke quickly becoming more ornamental than instrumental.

Enter Eddie Vedder.  My Nice-Sister-In-Law burned me a copy of his latest CD--very originally entitled, Ukulele Songs.  I think it's great, but you know who loves it even more?  The Kid.

Not even kidding a little bit.  We were driving him to daycare the other morning, and he got a little fussy in the back seat.  Sweet Husband started to fret, and I was all like, "Watch this!" as I turned up Eddie Vedder.  Instant calm!  It's voo-doo-y.

Then, Saturday afternoon, the Kid was feeling particularly witchy and wouldn't nap.  I was getting a bit desperate, so--thinking of Eddie--I pulled down the uke and slowly...painfully...pecked out the notes to the Kid's favorite song--There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.  

The crazy part was, it worked!  He drifted off to sleep for a few minutes (which was complete victory at that point) and I kept practicing.  Then Sweet Husband came home and, with some help from Ukulele Mike, started playing around with it too.  

It's taken us a bit to get around to it, but I think before long we may be a house full of ukulele players.  

And my idyllic vision?  Well, it's not Jingle Bells (yet), but when I came downstairs Monday morning Sweet Husband and the Kid were sitting at the breakfast table--the former practicing the riff for Wipe Out, the later giggling and cooing at his new favorite entertainment.

Pursuits for Passing the Time

We are so very much in waiting mode here at the Hacienda del Hosta, trying to distract ourselves to make the time pass.  Aside from one little "maybe this is it" that quickly dissipated, and lots of kicks, all is quiet on the baby front.  And, although I believe Lovely Midwife when she says it's better for the baby to bake right up to 40 weeks, the planner in me can't help but wish this was all a bit more predictable.  The "it could be Valentine's day or it could be later today" is sweetly maddening.

Plus, I am huge-mongous.  Each day I wake up thinking, "This has to be the day--he can't possibly get any bigger in there...."  And each day I find that, in fact, he has somehow made more room for himself.  It's kind of like when Moe sneakily inches between Sweet Husband and I in bed in the middle of the night.  I am more aware of where the wee man's bottom is than I am of my own.

*Sigh*

But anyway, some of our pursuits for passing the time....

....Capper's magazine.  At Thanksgiving, Sweet Husband's grandmother (famous in the family for her choices of magazine-subscriptions-as-Christmas-gifts), told me she was going to get us a subscription to Capper's magazine.  She said she remembered reading stories from the magazine aloud with her family when she was a child, and she thought we'd enjoy the bits about chickens and gardening and so forth.

The first issue arrived last week, and it's been a source of amusement every since.  In addition to the very useful stories about chickens and seed saving and mini-tractors (Sweet Husband is now obsessed with figuring out how we could justify owning a mini-tractor), the classified ads in the back are a hoot.

A sample:

TEN CLEAN JOKES $10.  Send $10 and Self Adress Stamped envelop to:  William Scheibmeir, 1336 North Walnut, Iola, KS 66749.

....Doodling out garden plans.  I found a fun piece of software for this here.  (30 day trial is free, after that it's $25 a year.)  I don't know if I will spend the money to keep it permanently, but it's nicer than a piece of scratch paper.  And when you're done planning, it gives you a shopping list to take to the nursery to buy seeds and plants.  (Apparently, some people actually make a shopping list and stick to it--who knew?)

....Baking bread.  We were out having breakfast Sunday morning, when Sweet Husband said words that made my heart go pitter-patter: "I think I might go home and bake some bread this afternoon."

And to encourage him in his endeavor, I fulfilled on a promise I made last Winter and made him a pair of bread bags in which to store said bread.  They're just drawstring bags made from tea towels (inspiration here), but they're supposed to be the bee's knees for keeping homemade bread yummy and fresh.

Soil Mates

I was offered a free review copy of this book--Soil Mates: Companion Plants for Your Vegetable Garden by Sara Alway--not long ago, and since I'm just beginning to scribble out plans for "The Garden, 2011" I thought it might be helpful.

For those who may not know, "companion planting" involves putting certain plants together in the garden to the benefit of both.  For example, basil planted near tomatoes will deter many common tomato pests, and attract bees as pollinators.  

I've read a lot about companion planting, but haven't done much of it in the past, because I've been gardening in such small spaces that everything is close together.  It's one of my goals to pay more attention to it this year now that I have the extra room.

To that end, this book was a fun, quick read.  First, it's adorable.  Each section features a "love match" of two plants, and the discussion is written in what I can only describe as "flirty" prose.  In addition to information about the characteristics and preferences of each plant, Alway includes helpful spacing and planting information.  Each section ends with a recipe featuring both plants.  

For someone just starting a garden, I think this would be a helpful and unintimidating little book.

That all being said, this one was just a little too beginner for me, or maybe just too one subject.  What can I say?  I'm a nerd and I prefer my gardening books to be encyclopedic tomes.  This book only covers companion planting (and a very little bit about the basics of starting a garden) which makes it redundant with other books already on my shelves.

However, this would be a lovely book for someone just starting out.  If you're planning on starting a garden this year (or you know someone who is--it just screams "Valentine's Day gift"), and you'd like this book to help you plan, drop a comment below.  I'll randomly pick a winner Saturday morning, and get it out to you ASAP.

The winner--chosen by Sweet Husband random number generator--is Leslie.  I'll email you for your address and get the book in the mail!

It's January, Therefore I Knit

Not that I don't knit all the other months of the year, but January is usually a little more prolific.  And this year may be a little worse than usual, as I'm being aided and abetted by Mr. Jim Hawkins and Captain Long John Silver.

One night not long ago Sweet Husband discovered his cell phone also functions quite well as an e-reader.  He downloaded Treasure Island--just to test it out--and read the first chapter aloud.  

Then he tried to stop right where the story starts getting good.  Can you believe that? 

I objected, so he continued reading and we've gone on that way, a chapter or two a night, him reading, me knitting....

A sunshine-y colored kicking bag.  (Ravelry details.)

The completed Rock Chalk Britches.  (Ravelry details.)

An "Odessa" hat and a goofy little earflap hat that are currently winging their way to (*mysteriously*)...oh, someone or other.  (Ravelry here and here.)

 

Another thing the phone does?  Makes videos.  Is it dorky that I can almost hypnotize myself watching myself knit?

The Kitchen Reader: Hungry Monkey

This month's Kitchen Reader book, which I got to pick, was Hungry Monkey: A Food-Loving Father's Quest to Raise an Adventurous Eater.  

If I had to seriously choose attributes I would wish for our kiddo, "adventurous eater" wouldn't make the top ten.  (Those would be things like smart, kind, brave, funny....)  

But it would definitely make the top twenty!

We're food people--it's important to us.  And just like sports-loving people want to have sports loving kids and book-loving people want to have little readers, it would tickle me to death if our kid was adventurous about food.

To that end, this book is more memoir than guidebook.  And while Amster-Burton does have some success in getting his daughter, Iris, to experiment with trying new foods, she has some of the same issues that I suspect all kids have.  She goes through picky phases.  She loves a food one day, and won't even try it the next, etc.  This is not a book to tell you how to get your kid to eat spinach every night.

What this book is--or at least seems to be--is very sane.

Feed your kid what you eat.  Don't make a big issue out of it if they don't like something, or even when they do.  Get them involved in choosing and making food--one idea that I thought was particularly good is that little Iris picks what the family has for dinner at least one night a week.  Make things that are customizable--e.g. rice with a variety of toppings so that everyone can pick their own.

It also explores the reasons behind some of the common advice behind feeding kids--no spicy foods, only organic food--and completely blasts the ones that don't make sense.  (Do you eat only bland, organic food?)  Having read a few other books in the "cooking for baby" genre, I really appreciated the completely non-sanctimonious tone.

This book is also hilarious!  I snarfled out loud at least every other page or so.  I'm sure life with Iris isn't that funny 24/7, but for literary purposes the one-liners Amster-Burton picks out had me rolling with laughter.

While this book is certainly targeted at parents of young ones, it's truly funny enough that I think even people who remember their own childhood eating weirdnesses will get a kick out of it.

The Kitchen Reader: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

This month's Kitchen Reader book--chosen by Karen of Shortbread South--is Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. 

The plot was not terribly new for me at this point--urban family moves the the country and eats local for a year--but I liked this book the most of any I've read in this genre, because the author is very practical about it.  

A lot of the time authors turn eating locally into an endurance contest.  (In Plenty, for example, the authors picked mouse poop out of their locally sourced wheat so they could make bread--ewww!)  In much the way I admire people who run marathons, but would never actually want to run a marathon myself; I admire that sort of dedication to eating locally, but it's not for me.

Throughout this book, Kingsolver's family eats locally where they can, takes the time to consider whether they really need things that can't be gotten locally, and then buys sustainably where they must.  This strikes me as being much more realistic for the average person.

But the most fascinating part of this book is the turkeys!

According to Kingsolver, almost all modern, domesticated turkeys are hatched in incubators.  Like chickens, they're raised until a given point where (meat) weight vs. food consumption makes economic sense, and then they're slaughtered--usually before they're even a year old.  

In one chapter of the book, Kingsolver decides to see if she can make her domestic turkeys self-perpetuating--in other words, could her turkeys hatch and raise their own young?  While the underlying concerns are serious (we've screwed with Mother Nature so much that these birds can't even reproduce without human interference), the story of how one turkey eventually figures it all out is hilarious.

All in all, a very good read!

The Kitchen Reader: In Defense of Food

This month's Kitchen Reader book--chosen by Margaret of Tea and Scones--was In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan.  

I can't quite say this book was life changing for me--because the first time I read it I was already starting to generally eat more whole, local food--but it did give me a manifesto: Eat food.  Not too much.  Mostly plants.

There's a bit more to it than that, but not much.  Mainly it's about knowing the difference between "food" and "food-like substances".  

To give you an idea, probably my very favorite of his "tells" is "Don't eat anything that won't eventually rot."  It just seems like good sense, ya know?

Sweet Husband and I have gotten to where we even make a game of it sometimes.  As in,

      "Those Fruit Loops are so NOT food."

    "Oh yeah, well neither are your Mike'n'Ikes!"

But all kidding aside, the book makes a very good case for eating real food, and it does so in a way that's not more judgmental than it has to be.  For example, although Mr. Pollan frowns on high fructose corn syrup and the like, he's very realistic about it.  I get the idea that even he has a handful of Mike'n'Ikes every now and then--just not every day.

In short, if I could recommend only one book to everyone from atop my "food issues" soapbox, this would unquestionably be it.  You can see the rest of Mr. Pollan's "food rules" summarized here, but, really, just go read the book.

Summer Movie Festival

A little knitting, a little popcorn, Cary Grant projected onto the side of a building--fun times, fun times!

The Kitchen Reader: I *heart* Ruth Reichl

I'm a bit late, but this month's Kitchen Reader book was Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table by Ruth Reichl.

This is why I love reading groups.  Because this is a book I never, ever would have picked up on my own-some, but because someone else told me to read it (thank you Jill) I have discovered a new author that I love!

For those who don't know (I didn't) Ms. Reichl was a Berkley-dwelling food writer who went on to be the food critic for both the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times.  She then became the editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine.  Sort of an impressive way of saying she's a world-class foodie, yes?

And from the early pages of Tender, it's easy to see why.  From her description of her mother's horrible, botulism-inducing cooking, to her discussion of her Aunt Birdie's Potato Salad, to her wild high school and college exploits cooking for friends late at night, you feel like you're there adventuring and eating with her. 

Additionally, although the food is obviously the show piece of the book, she mixes in the perfect amount of "life" to give the food context.  The devil's food cake she makes the first time she makes out with a boy, for example, is perfectly wicked. 

I not only gobbled down this book (which chronicles Reichl's childhood up to her first marriage )but ate up Comfort Me with Apples: More Adventures at the Table (early adulthood) and Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise  (life as the New York Times food critic) as well.

Four star reading, all the way!

In Which I Photograph Musicians and Babies

(But before I get started on that, post #2 is up over at Urban Homesteading, wherein I discuss the book Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer and how the author might have just inspired me to get myself in a bunny way.  Now, on with the pictures....)

Remember Nice Scooter Friend?  The one that Sweet Husband met online who did not leave him dead-in-a-ditch?  The one whose awesome girlfriend moved here from New York last spring?  The one who threw that way-fun Halloween party?

Well, now he's started a band.  They're called The Latenight Callers, and they're really good--like, in that addictive, can't-get-the-songs-out-of-my-head-good kind of way.  Seriously, I've been humming the intro to "The Tease" for weeks now, and I love it!

(Go listen, really.)  

In advance of their first live gigs, they needed some pictures, and, of course, I was all too happy to oblige.

I have to confess, this was some of the most fun I've had taking pictures.  There was even liquor involved at one point.  Babies?  Who likes taking pictures of babies?

Oh, that's right--me!

The thing is, these Latenight Callers--they kind of exude bad-assed-ness just standing there.  All I really had to do was play with the lights a bit and push the shutter button.

But this little guy?  He made me work for every smile...but it was so worth it!

The Kitchen Reader: What We Eat When We Eat Alone

This month's Kitchen Reader book was What We Eat When We Eat Alone: Stories and 100 Recipes.  (If the title sounds familiar, I read a review of this book several months ago, and ended up testing the chocolate mousse recipe--divine, I tell you!)

The book is essentially a couple of foodies asking people "What do you eat when you're alone?  When you don't have to think of anyone else?  When your only limitation is what's in your cupboard?"

Some of the answers are a little bizarre--oyster crackers crumbled in milk?  avocado soft tacos?--but that's what makes the book interesting.  Because often it was stuff that I hadn't thought about before, but, now that I have, sounds really yummy.  (Fried potatoes with yogurt sauce anyone?)  I really want to try at least 90% of the recipes in this book.

And, of course, it got me thinking about what I eat when I eat alone.  

Like many of the people in the book my go-to, just-for-me recipe is both a little indulgent and a little bit utilitarian--i.e. made from ingredients that I almost always have on-hand.

What I like to do is make up a single serving of pasta.  When the pasta is almost done, I brown some butter in a sauce pan, throwing in some herb-y goodness if I've got it.  (Thyme, sage, rosemary...really, just whatever.)  Once the butter is brown, I add a splash of balsamic vinegar.  Then I drain the pasta and toss it in the butter mixture for a few seconds, just to coat it.  For toppings, again, it's just whatever's on hand--Parmesan cheese, capers, olives, a bit of preserved lemon....delicious!

Give me some more ideas, guys--what do you eat when you eat alone?

Confidential to My Book Blogger Holiday Swap Secret Santa....

 

....while I do not know who you are, sir or madam, you rock!

The Kitchen Reader: The Warmest Room in the House

For this month's Kitchen Reader, we read The Warmest Room in the House: How the Kitchen Became the Heart of the American Home by Steve Gdula.

This book had much more breadth than depth, but it was a nice overview of how our history has shaped the food we eat and visa-versa.  It was full of little interesting factoids--for example, according to the book, salads came into vogue in the twenties and thirties when women's clothing changed (I'm picturing flapper dresses) in a way that didn't allow them to camouflage extra weight anymore.  Hamburger Helper was introduced to make something yummy out of cheap hamburger during lean economic times in the seventies.  And microwaves came about when a defense engineer accidentally melted his candy bar by getting it too close to a magnetron.  

While it got a little tedious towards the end, I did learn quite a lot.  It's not for everyone, but I think general trivia junkies and kitchen anthropologists would all really enjoy this book.

Friday Night Snacks and a Movie

Without meaning to, we've slipped into the greatest little Friday night tradition.  

I believe it's called "staying in".

Don't get me wrong, we used to be weekend warriors when it came to going out.  A little Free State on Friday (a local brewpub), sushi and drinks on Saturday, darts and burgers at Dempsey's Sunday afternoon...and on and on.  But, in trying to cut back a little--both in budget and waistline--all of that going out just wasn't working.

Several Fridays ago, tired after a long week at work, I decided to just stop by the grocery store on the way home.  I was actually having trouble really focusing enough to put together a coherent dinner, so I just bought some nibbles--bread, cheese, figs, and a box of grocery store sushi.  (Yes, I know those don't go together.  I just didn't have the capacity to care.)  When I got home, there was a Netflix envelope waiting, and--boom! tada!--we put the two together and had an awesome time.  So nice was it, in fact, that we've kept it up for many weeks now.  

The rules to this tradition?  Foods that makes dishes to wash isn't allowed.  (Although we did bend this a little for Pioneer Woman's brie stuffed mushrooms a few weeks ago.)  Foods must be able to be eaten in front of the TV, preferably with hands.  Foods need not go together, but must be yummy.  Dogs must stay on the floor--all four of us just can't quite stretch out on the couch--but snuggling is otherwise encouraged!

(Picture c/o zesmerelda / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.)

In Which I Meet the Pioneer Woman

Do you all know about the Pioneer Woman?  

Also known as Ree Drummond, she's a city girl turned rancher's wife who blogs about life in the country, food, photography, and lots else.  (If you don't know what I'm talking about, start with her Black Heels to Tractor Wheels story of how she met her husband, "the Marlboro Man"--that's how I got sucked in!)  

She recently compiled a bunch of her recipes into a book--I love bloggers-with-book-deals, it gives me hope in life--and was in Kansas City last night promoting it.  Not being able to let such a close opportunity slip by, I recruited some former co-workers who are also big PW fans, and we went over to meet the Pioneer Woman in person.

While, of course, there is only so much observation you can do in the time it takes to get your book signed, she seemed just as sweet in person as she is on her blog.  Hilarious impersonations too!  She just made me want to cancel my plans for the rest of the week and go laugh with her over coffee.

And although I've only gotten to skim through so far, the book--The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl--looks awesome.  The recipes are of the "simple-but-yummy" variety, with nice, standard ingredients that are easy to come by.  Stuff you'd have on hand on a ranch in the middle of nowhere, I suspect.  

I can guarantee we will be trying every single one of the delicious looking breakfasts!

Oh, and did I also mention she gave out cutie-cute t-shirts?  In fact, because I had two tickets for the signing, I got two of said shirts.  One for me, and one that I will give away here.  (That's me, always thinking 'bout you!)  It's an extra large (but they run pretty small), and you can see what it looks like here.  To win, just tell me why you're a Pioneer Woman fan.  I'll randomly pick someone at, oh, let's say 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

UPDATE: And the wiener--as the PW would say--chosen by Sweet-Husband-random-number-generator, is Abby.

The Kitchen Reader: My Life in France

For this month's Kitchen Reader, I read My Life in France by Julia Child.

Completely inspirational.

The only book even vaguely about Julia Child that I had read before this was Julie and Julia.  Although I flipped through Mastering the Art of French Cooking once, I just couldn't get into it at the time.  Now that I understand what went into it and all of the history behind it, I just have to try again.  (And read her other cookbooks, and watch all the episodes of The French Chef, which I now have on reserve at the library.)

Her descriptions of all the places they lived during Paul Child's years as a diplomat were fascinating.  And the food!  This is not a book to read hungry!  Although I'm sure some of her descriptions were lifted from letters she wrote contemporaneously with the meals, the amount of detail and description is incredible.  It's almost like you're there eating with her. 

And she was just such a tenacious, brave woman.  I can't even imagine walking into a famous cooking school--and one that's not even taught in your native language, at that--as a novice like she did.  Then there was the endless recipe testing and insisting on perfection for her books.  And did I mention that she didn't even really start learning to cook until she was almost forty?  It puts a whole new perspective on being accomplished, doesn't it?  

Anyone who's interested in food at all just has to read this book!

The Make-Something Mini Challenge

Welcome Read-a-Thoners!  (And others, if you want to know what the heck I'm talking about, info here.)

For this mini-challenge, tell me a story about a character in a book you've read today who made something.  It can be literal--e.g. a cake, a quilt--or more figurative--e.g. a joke, a mistake.  

This challenge will run until 1 a.m. central time, at which point I will randomly choose a winner.

The prize?  A set of nice, new knitting needles and a skein of bamboo yarn--so you can "make something" of your own!

Happy reading and good luck!

Update: Congrats to the winner nomareader!