Hi everyone!
Mary, Christie, Andrea, Terri, Laila and I had a lovely, warm Saturday morning walk on a portion of the Coal Creek Trail in Louisville - amazing views! Four of us enjoyed coffee and treats at the Dragonfly Cafe on South Boulder Road in Louisville.
Book Report:
Terri just finished Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See - we've already reviewed that book but it deserves another mention. Check out the review on http://www.amazon.com/Snow-Flower-Secret-Fan-Novel/dp/0812968069/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-2575432-7104036?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1179105593&sr=8-1
Jeff recommends - Salt - A World History by Mark Kurlansky
Los Angeles Times Book Review
Kurlansky continues to prove himself remarkably adept at taking a most unlikely candidate and telling its tale with epic grandeur.
Susan read a fascinating book about our current political climate - Don't Think of an Elephant - Know Your Values and Frame the Debate by George Lakoff. It is a quick read but valuable and timely.
From Publishers Weekly
Lakoff, a cognitive scientist and linguist at Berkeley, believes he knows why conservatives have been so successful in recent years and how progressives like himself can beat them at their own game. This slim book presents a simple, accessible overview of his theory of "moral politics" and a call to action for Democrats mourning November’s election results. Lakoff’s persuasive argument focuses on two ideas: what he calls "framing," and the opposition of liberals’ and conservatives’ concepts of the family. Conservatives, he says, have easily framed tax cuts as "tax relief" because of widespread, preexisting views of taxes as burdensome, and liberals have had little success conveying the idea that taxes are a social responsibility. In Lakoff’s view, conservatives adhere to a "strict father" model of family, in contrast to liberals’ "nurturant parent" view, and he sees this difference as the key to understanding most of the two sides’ clashes. His writing is clear and succinct, and he illuminates his theories through easy-to-follow examples from current politics. Although the book has been updated since the election, many of its sections were originally written long beforehand, so some comments are outdated (at one point Lakoff wonders, for example, whether George Bush’s support of the gay marriage amendment will help him keep the White House). However, the process of regaining power may be a long one for Democrats, and Lakoff’s insights into how to deal with conservatives and appeal to the general public are bound to light a fire under many progressives.
Website of the Week - http://www.roomtoread.org/ - Terri, Cass and Barb went to an event at the Tattered Cover Friday night to hear former Microsoft executive, John Wood speak about the remarkable organization he founded to bring books and education to children living in poverty. I'm so sorry I wasn't able to go with them to hear him. Do check this out!
Podcast of the Week - Between the Lines - a book review podcast from PBS Atlanta http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_detail.php?siteId=5183239
Cooking and Food:
Jack and I went out to dinner last night - we went to L'Absinthe, a French restaurant at the corner of Broadway and Canyon here in Boulder. We had an excellent meal - Jack had the lobster bisque and steak au poivre and I had a Caesar salad and mussels. We shared a flourless chocolate cake that was heavenly. We also enjoyed the piano accompaniment. I was a bit disapponted that it was as empty as it was - we had tried to get last minute reservations in several other places that were totally booked. Hopefully, they'll still be around next year! http://www.labsintheboulder.com/
I just made a fabulous lamb dish (a treat for myself while Jack is away - he doesn't like lamb). I enjoyed it for dinner tonight and will enjoy it all week! It is from The Splendid Table website - it is called Ninth-Night Lamb - http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/recipes/meat_lamb.html. Great with the roasted asparagus that Libby made last week - by the way, I had indicated that she roasted the asparagus at 425 degrees - it should be 475 degrees!
Mandy sent me another great recipe from Viola Cappodici - Mrs C's Bracciole - she loved it! I'll probably try it next week for Soprano Sunday:
MRS. C’S BRACCIOLE
“It’s never a bad time for bracciole.” --Mrs. C.
Ingredients
1 ½ lb. pork loin (ask butcher to butterfly it); can also use a flattened beef round steak
salt & pepper
garlic powder
dried parsley and basil
grated romano cheese
kitchen twine
Directions
Lay out the pork (or beef); salt and pepper generously. Sprinkle a healthy amount of garlic powder, parsley and basil. Sprinkle the romano cheese to cover. (“Don’t be stingy.”) Start at the narrow end and roll and tie up w/kitchen twine (go lengthwise first and knot, circle back widthwise and make a half hitch at intervals along the way; to finish, loop around lengthwise again and knot).
Place the tied bracciole in a stockpot pot; brown it in olive oil (5 min. or so) and sear on all sides. Remove meat from the pot and set aside. Make gravy in the stockpot (see Mrs. C’s gravy recipe). Put the pork back in the pot and bring to a boil; lower heat and simmer partially covered, for 1 ½ hours, stirring every 10-15 min. Remove string, slice and serve with gravy.
That's it for now - enjoy this warm weather!
Love,
Susan
Susan Wadle
Grillo Center Labyrinth Park
http://www.grillocenter.org/
Check out my blog at http://cookinandbookin.blogspot.com/
Please note my new e-mail address is susanwadle@comcast.net
Phone 303-417-1098
Fax 303-417-1122
1765 Hawthorn Place
Boulder, CO 80304
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