Saturday Morning Walkers - March 9, 2008

Hi everyone!


Jan, Barb, Mary and Laila joined me for an "urban" walk around the Mapleton HIll neighborhood yesterday, ending up at the Paradise Cafe on Pearl Street. It was a beautiful, mild morning and we enjoyed checking out all of the beautiful houses - lots of remodels going on.

Book Report:
Jan is listening to Carl Hiaason's Skin Tight and really enjoying it - I haven't read any Hiasson books but according to Jan, he is very funny.
From Publishers Weekly
Hiaasen's latest thriller is his funniest and sharpest novel to date. Set in a south Florida swarming with ripoff artists, crooked cops, nude sunbathers and corrupt politicians, it features a Mafia-connected plastic surgeon with butterfingers, a bitchy Hollywood starlet, a remarkably inept hit man and a pompous TV journalist "nationally famous for getting beaten up on camera." Retired state investigator Mick Stranahan, the hero, kills an intruder in his seaside house on stilts by impaling him with a trophy spearfish. Then one of his five ex-wives is found drowned. Due to an unresolved missing-person case, someone wants Stranahan eliminated, and his efforts to flush out the mixed bag of bad guys let Hiaasen ( Tourist Season ; Double Wham my ) display his manic sense of humor at every turn. The cynical sleuth has just the right mix of sour and smarts to get a fix on a mad world. This wickedly amusing story is the work of a keen satirist who off-handedly exposes the moral rot at every level of society.

Jan is also listening to a memoir that's on my list of must-reads, Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson - it has been recommended to me over and over again.
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Some failures lead to phenomenal successes, and this American nurse's unsuccessful attempt to climb K2, the world's second tallest mountain, is one of them. Dangerously ill when he finished his climb in 1993, Mortenson was sheltered for seven weeks by the small Pakistani village of Korphe; in return, he promised to build the impoverished town's first school, a project that grew into the Central Asia Institute, which has since constructed more than 50 schools across rural Pakistan and Afghanistan. Coauthor Relin recounts Mortenson's efforts in fascinating detail, presenting compelling portraits of the village elders, con artists, philanthropists, mujahideen, Taliban officials, ambitious school girls and upright Muslims Mortenson met along the way. As the book moves into the post-9/11 world, Mortenson and Relin argue that the United States must fight Islamic extremism in the region through collaborative efforts to alleviate poverty and improve access to education, especially for girls. Captivating and suspenseful, with engrossing accounts of both hostilities and unlikely friendships, this book will win many readers' hearts

I'd like to report that although I'd been slogging through Gail Tsukiama's Street of a Thousand Blossoms, I'm now thoroughly enjoying the story and am engaged with the characters. I had hoped to finish it this weekend but that was not meant to be. I'm also working my way through Eckhard Tolle's A New Earth.

Website of the Week - http://www.foodsel.com/ - great resource for information about the foods we eat

Podcast of the Week - http://podictionary.com/ - a podcast for word lovers

Vocabulary Word of the Week - actually we're comparing 2 this week from www.podictionary.com - grammarian and lexicographer

Grammarians start from a point of view that there is a right way and a wrong way to express yourself—that’s prescriptive.
Lexicographers on the other hand are only reporting on words as they see them being used; no value judgments—that’s descriptive.

Cooking and Dining Report:
A restaurant review from Janet - she and Dan tried the new Asian restaurant on Pearl Street, Bimbamboo. They thought it was great - hip, inexpensive and the food was good - yummy appetizers - desserts looked fabulous - bread pudding, rice pudding, pineapple and cake kabobs with vanilla fondue, chocolate banana split - also had a great assortment of teas. http://www.bimbamboo.com/index.php

I have a several recipes to share - we ate well around here this week!:

Spicy Baked Macaroni from Giada DeLaurentiis - turns out that Libby and I both made this dish this week - this is a great dish to bring to a pot-luck. Libby made it for guests. She used whole wheat macaroni and they loved it.
http://search.foodnetwork.com/food/recipe/spicy+baked+macaroni/search.do?searchString=spicy+baked+macaroni&site=food&searchType=Recipe

Sole Fillets with Toasted Pine Nuts, Lemon and Basil from Fine Cooking - a simple and elegant meal.
http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/sole_fillets_pine_nuts_basil.aspx

Fettuccine with Sausage, Sage and Crispy Garlic from Epicurious.com - delicious with turkey sausage!http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/sole_fillets_pine_nuts_basil.aspx

Chicken Saltimbocca from Cooks Illustrated - we just had this tonight and it was a huge hit!
http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipe.asp?recipeids=4862#topOfPage

That's it for now - I have a couple of great meals planned for this week - I'll give you the report next week.
Have a great week!

Love,
Susan