Cookin' and Bookin' With the Saturday Morning Walkers

Saturday Morning Walkers - December 7, 2008

2009-02-01T20:27:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!

We had a twist on our Saturday morning meeting yesterday - we met for coffee before walking (I'm assuming a walk followed - hmmm.....) Chris and I were both sorry we had to leave Jan, Laila and Mary early but it was good to catch up and we had a special, short visit from Jackie and Keith. Felt like old times!

Barb was out in San Diego this weekend for a holiday get-together with her amazing book group. They have been together for more than 30 years - a few have moved away but they try to get together at least once a year and even include spouses/partners. I think that is so great!

All our love and good energy go out to Cass and her family - Cass' mom passed away on Thursday, December 4 - her illness was brief and Cass was able to be with her mom during those last days in hospice.

Book Report:

Laila is reading a travel memoir - Shadow of the Silk Road by Colin Thubron.
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. In his latest absorbing travel epic, Thubron (In Siberia; Mirror to Damascus) follows the course—or at least the general drift—of the ancient network of trade routes that connected central China with the Mediterranean Coast, traversing along the way several former Soviet republics, war-torn Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey. The author travels third-class all the way, in crowded, stifling railroad cars and rattle-trap buses and cars, staying at crummy inns or farmers' houses, subject to shakedowns by border guards and constant harassment—even quarantine—by health officials hunting the SARS virus. Physically, these often monotonously arid, hilly regions of Central Asia tend to go by in a swirl of dun-colored landscapes studded with Buddha shrines in varying states of repair or ruin, but Thubron's poetic eye still teases out gorgeous subtleties in the panorama. Certain themes also color his offbeat encounters with locals—most of them want to get the hell out of Central Asia—but again he susses out the infinite variety of ordinary misery. The conduit by which an entire continent exchanged its commodities, cultures and peoples—Thubron finds traces of Roman legionaries and mummies of Celtic tribesmen in western China—the Silk Road becomes for him an evocative metaphor for the mingling of experiences and influences that is the essence of travel.

Chris mentioned a book that she is planning to read and I heard a radio interview with the author, Sheila Weller - Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon--and the Journey of a Generation
From Publishers Weekly
Weller's cultural history of the titans of women in rock in the 1970s details the artistic, sexual and symbolic twists and turns of Carole King, Joni Mitchell and Carly Simon in careful, loving detail. Susan Ericksen reads like one of the girls, picking up from Weller's tone and sounding like a woman of the era, besotted with the music and with the sense of boundaries being broken and glass ceilings smashed. While Ericksen occasionally slips, pronouncing words incorrectly and stumbling over unwieldy sentences, her performance is, for the most part, very solid. Weller's book is ambitious and wide-ranging, but Ericksen keeps its story tight and engaging

Website/Blog of the Week - this is a blog site from a group that Jexy is involved with at Jacob's school - the blog is called The Beanstalk Blog - A Food and Garden Blog for Odyssey Charter School. http://ocsbeanstalk.blogspot.com/ - This is all part of an effort to transform the school lunch program at the school as well as educate the staff and students about healthy food choices. The site will have articles and recipes - there's even a gift item perfect for a stocking stuffer available on the site.

Podcast of the Week - The Economist - http://podcast.com/show/65239/

Vocabulary Word of the Week - suggested by Gaye - wisdom
From Wikipedia:
Wisdom is knowledge, understanding, experience, discretion, and intuitive understanding, along a capacity to apply these qualities well towards finding solutions to problems. It is the judicious and purposeful application of knowledge that is valued in society. To some extent the terms wisdom and intelligence have similar and overlapping meanings. The status of wisdom or prudence as a virtue is recognized in cultural, philosophical and religious sources.

Cooking and Dining Report - Jack was away most of the week so my kitchen and I have been on vacation.

I did cook dinner tonight and this was a Roast Chicken with Bacon with recipe from the Williams Sonoma catalog - http://www.foodchannel.com/recipes/1353-roasted-chickens-with-bacon - wow - this was fantastic - made a gravy using demi-glace - we loved it!

Quote of the Week - from George Bernard Shaw

"There are two disappointments in life. Not getting what you want and getting it" This line appeared in Chapter 7 of Jack Kornfield's A Path With Heart. In this section on the grasping and wanting mind, Kornfield elaborates, saying ".....peace comes not from fulfilling our wants but from the moment that dissatisfacion ends. When wanting is filled, there comes a moment of satisfaction, not from the pleasure but from stopping of grasping."

Have a good week!

Love,

Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - November 30, 2008

2009-02-01T20:21:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!!

Hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing Thanksgiving holiday. We've had a lovely visit with Mandy and Rob. I missed our walk yesterday - Jack and I were at his mom's helping plan her upcoming move and Mandy and Rob went up to A-Basin for a day of skiing. I know that Mary planned a walk around Waneka Lake in Lafayette with coffee at Cinos.

Book Report:

Mandy is reading the third in the Twilight series, Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer. This series really seems to be a hit with a broader age group than the young girls it is aimed at.

From Publishers Weekly
The legions of readers who are hooked on the romantic struggles of Bella and the vampire Edward will ecstatically devour this third installment of the story begun in Twilight, but it's unlikely to win over any newcomers. Jake, the werewolf met in New Moon, pursues Bella with renewed vigilance. However, when repercussions from an episode in Twilight place Bella in the mortal danger that series fans have come to expect, Jake and Edward forge an uneasy alliance. The plot patterns have begun to show here, but Meyer's other strengths remain intact. The supernatural elements accentuate the ordinary human dramas of growing up. Jake and Edward's competition for Bella feels particularly authentic, especially in their apparent desire to best each other as much as to win Bella. Once again the author presents teenage love as an almost inhuman force: "[He] would have been my soul mate still," says Bella, "if his claim had not been overshadowed by something stronger, something so strong that it could not exist in a rational world." According to Meyer, the fourth book should tie up at least the Edward story, if not the whole shebang. Ages 12-up.

Mandy and I went to a book reading today at the Boulder Book Store where Wally Lamb was promoting his new novel, The Hour I First Believed. You may remember Lamb from his earlier books, She's Come Undone and This Much I Know is True. We really enjoyed him and look forward to reading this new book, which weaves a fiction story with actual events that have occurred in recent years..

From The Washington Post
From The Washington Post's Book World/washingtonpost.com Reviewed by Ron Charles A great story is buried in Wally Lamb's avalanche of a novel, The Hour I First Believed, but only the most determined readers will manage to dig it out. The author -- twice blessed by Oprah, for She's Come Undone and I Know This Much Is True -- can be a captivating storyteller, and he has built this story on one of the most shocking acts of violence in modern history. Sadly, though, his new novel becomes so burdened by diversions, delays, tangents and side plots that the whole rambling enterprise grows maddening, the kind of book you want to throw across the room, if only you could lift it. The narrator is a middle-aged English teacher named Caelum who's trying to hold together his third marriage. When he discovers that his wife, Maureen, is cheating on him, he attacks her lover with a pipe wrench. This is, from start to finish, a novel about the effects of anger, the torrent of destruction that's easily triggered and difficult to repair. Hoping to remake their lives after Maureen's adultery and Caelum's prosecution for assault, they move to Colorado and get jobs at Columbine High School. In April of 1999, when Caelum flies back to Connecticut to check on his sickly aunt, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold enact their deadly rampage. Caught in the school's library, Maureen hides in a cabinet listening to students being taunted and slaughtered. Lamb doesn't provide the sort of psychological insight into the perpetrators that we got from Richard Russo's and Lionel Shriver's novels about school shootings, but he knows just how to let the details of a tragedy unfold without decoration or commentary. He's a master at the kind of direct, unadorned narrative that brings these events alive in all their visceral power. The most terrifying section of The Hour I First Believed is essentially a docudrama of the Columbine massacre, describing the actual events, naming the real victims and heroes and providing chilling excerpts from Klebold's and Harris's journals and videotapes. Lamb's depiction of the aftermath is equally wrenching: parents waiting all night in the gym for lists of the dead, the sound of hundreds of cell phones ringing in uncollected backpacks, the sight of such a happy place transformed into a morgue. In many ways, this horrendous incident is a natural subject for Lamb. He's long been interested in the lingering effects of trauma and the process of emotional recovery, and it's a relief to see that his treatment bears none of the shiny optimism associated with his famous talk-show patron. Although Lamb is too earnest for satire, The Hour I First Believed makes ironic references to Dr. Phil, Chicken Soup for the Grieving Soul and the whole recovery industry that's grown up in the last couple of decades. As Caelum attends funerals, memorial services and counseling meetings after the massacre, he hears the full symphony of recovery theology, but he remains bitterly skeptical. "Maybe there was something to this 'power of prayer' stuff, and maybe there wasn't," he says. "But I resented the white-haired woman, shilling for God among the walking wounded." At the main funeral, attended by 70,000 mourners, including Amy Grant, Billy Graham's son and Al Gore, Caelum can't shake his resistance to their healing messages. When the crowd is exhorted to shout, "Columbine is love," Caelum won't do it. And later, when a chillingly efficient therapist begins her PowerPoint presentation on the process of grief, Caelum complains, "Too technical . . . she's talking to sufferers, not psych majors." The most moving example of the difficulty of recovering from psychological trauma is Caelum's wife. "Mo's one of the victims you've never read about in the Columbine coverage," he tells us. "One of the collaterally damaged." Overwhelmed by flashbacks and panic attacks, she can't return to work or handle the basic tasks of daily life. Caelum tries to do whatever she needs, be whomever she needs, but she remains either zoned out or combative, at constant risk of overdosing on tranquilizers. Caelum struggles to understand what's happening to her as she alternately pushes him away and begs for his affection. In hopes of providing her with a more peaceful setting, they move back to his family's farmhouse in Connecticut and try to start over. Maureen can't shake her demons, though. Alone and despairing, Caelum throws himself into researching the massacre, hoping to gain some understanding of his wife's condition, but the sheer volume of competing theories only depresses him more. This portrayal of a couple dealing with the asymmetrical effects of trauma is Lamb at his best, wholly sympathetic, deeply moving. If only the author had stayed with these ample elements, he would have had a powerful novel about two people determined to care for each other despite unfathomable challenges. But as the story moves further along, its focus blurs and the relationship at the center fades away. How much more disaster does a novel require, you may ask, than the deadliest high school shooting in America? The answer, apparently, is much, much more. This giant book becomes an encyclopedia of tragedy and mayhem, including but not limited to the Civil War, the Korean War, the Iraq War, Katrina, vehicular manslaughter, gang rape, kidnapping, dismemberment, alcoholism, suicide (by gun, by train), child abuse, self-mutilation, drug addiction, bankruptcy and infanticide: a menu of misery that could fill Oprah's schedule for a decade. What's surprising, though, is how this second half of the novel fails even as melodrama. It gets bogged down in the history of a women's prison that one of Caelum's relatives started more than 100 years earlier. Clearly, this subject is important to Lamb -- he's spent years teaching female prisoners in the York Correctional Institution in Connecticut -- and there's fascinating material here about the counterproductive ways we punish people, but he seems strangely unwilling to provide much insight into the lives of the women inmates. Instead, in a move that ruins the engaging domestic storyline, Maureen is pushed off stage when Caelum discovers in his attic a collection of 19th-century letters that mention everybody from Mark Twain to Harriet Beecher Stowe to Nikola Tesla. Herein begins an exceedingly tedious mystery about the real identity of Caelum's late mother. He gives the old letters to a feminist scholar for her dissertation about the founding of the women's prison, and at least 75 pages of her scholarly document are dumped into the novel, with deadening effect. Even Caelum complains about how boring this is. Trying to read his friend's dissertation, he says, "I shifted the pillows, glanced over at the clock radio. Only nine twenty-three? God, it felt more like midnight." Rarely have I felt such empathy with a character. "I fought it for as long as I could, attempting over and over to get to the end of that same sentence. Then I surrendered to sleep." But I still had more than 100 pages to go. And then Lamb's "Afterword." And then his "Notes From the Author." And then his "Acknowledgments." And then his "List of Sources Consulted." And then his list of "Charitable Donations." All so earnest and far, far too much.
Copyright 2008, The Washington Post. All Rights Reserved.

Website of the Week: a great site for quality children's toys - www.oompa.com

Podcast of the Week: Rob listens to on-line magazine Slate podcasts - http://www.slate.com/id/2119317/ -

Vocabulary Word of the Week: omnivore
From Wikipedia

Omnivores (from Latin: omne all, everything; vorare to devour) are species that eat both plants and animals as their primary food source. They are opportunistic, general feeders not specifically adapted to eat and digest either meat or plant material exclusively.[1] Pigs are one well-known example of an omnivore.[2] Crows are another example of an omnivore that many people see every day.[3] Humans are also omnivores.[1][4]

Although there are reported cases of herbivores eating meat matter as well as examples of carnivores eating plants, the classification refers to the adaptations and main food source of the species in general so these exceptions do not make either individual animals nor the species as a whole omnivores.

Most bear species are considered omnivores, but individuals' diets can range from almost exclusively herbivorous to almost exclusively carnivorous depending on what food sources are available locally and seasonally. Polar bears can be classified as carnivores while pandas almost exclusively eat bamboo and are therefore herbivores, although Giant Pandas will eat some meat from time to time. Therefore, they are still considered a herbivore because they mainly eat plants.

Cooking and Dining Report:

Lots of cooking going on over the last several days - it has been fun to cook for a houseful for a change.

Thanksgiving Recipes (which I didn't include last week)

Brined Roast Turkey with Sage Butter Rub - http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/brined_roast_turkey_with_sage_butter.aspx?

Ciabatta Stuffing with Chestnuts and Pancetta - http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/ciabatta-stuffing-with-chestnuts-and-pancetta-recipe/index.html

Roasted Green Beans with Lemon, PIne Nuts and Parmigiano - http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/roasted-green-beans-lemon-pine-nuts-parmigiano.aspx?collection=102332

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes - http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Roasted-Garlic-Mashed-Potatoes/Detail.aspx

Desserts were three pies that I didn't bake - Mikki made me a pumpkin that was scrumptuos and we had a chocolate pecan pie and apple pie from Dana at the Walnut Cafe - three pies for 5 people - how outrageous is that?!

Tonight we had the Flank Steak with Crispy Polenta and Roasted Shallot Vinaigrette that I've made a few times recently - http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Flank-Steak-with-Crispy-Polenta-and-Roasted-Shallot-Vinaigrette-101713

Quote of the Week -
"Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance. Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion."
Martha Graham
US choreographer & dancer (1894 - 1991)
Have a wonderful week ahead!

Love,
Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - November 23, 2008

2009-02-01T20:08:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!

I was sorry to have missed yesterday's walk - I think that Laila, Mary and Irma did a route around South Boulder and then met for coffee at Caffe Sole. We have had beautiful weather this weekend so I'm sure they enjoyed their walk.

Book Report:

I am well into The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan and I now know what Mandy A. meant when she said it impacted her life! It is quite an eye-opener about the food we eat - Pollan takes what could be a really dry subject and presents it in a very engaging way.

I heard about another food related book that I'm going to look for at the library - it is Chef MD's Big Book of Culinary Medicine by John La Puma, MD. I heard him talk on Mehmet Oz's XM radio program and it was pretty intriguing. Check out his website - http://www.chefmd.com/

I chatted with Sandy, a friend of Rita's, the other night and she reminded me of a book that I read and loved several years ago - Ruth Reichl's Tender at the Bone - Reichl is currently the editor-in-chief of Gourmet Magazine and was the food critic for the LA Times and the New York Times. This is her first of 3 memoirs that she has written about her life and food. She's a wonderful storyteller and I may have to re-read this one for the sheer pleasure of it.

Sandy is also reading a travel memoir by Rita Golden Gelman - Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World - Gelman is the author of many children's books and this book chronicles her journey out into the world, leaving behind her comfortable California lifestyle and marriage, heading out on her own. I love reading travel memoirs by women - this especially calls to mind a favorite of mine, Without Reservations: Travels of an Independent Woman by journalist Alice Steinbach.

Tales of a Female Nomad
From Library Journal
Fifteen years ago, the middle-aged Gelman (author of over 70 children's books, including More Spaghetti, I Say!) left behind an upscale California lifestyle and fading marriage to begin an odyssey that continues to this day. Using a well-paced and fluid writing style, Gelman describes how she observed orangutans in the rain forests of Borneo, canoed in Indonesia, ate psychedelic mushrooms in Mexico, and skirted landmines in Nicaragua. Wherever she travels, it is the people and their customs that intrigue her most, from the restrictive but culturally rich celebrations of a Hasidic family in Israel to the more relaxed but equally ritualized daily life of her new friends in Bali. Her enthusiasm for the people she meets and her ability to overcome the challenges faced by a woman traveling alone make for an engrossing and inspirational read.

Without Reservations
From Library Journal
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Steinbach took an extended leave from her newspaper job to travel around Europe in search of spontaneity. She started off in Paris, where she got romantically involved with a Japanese man and shopped; moved on to London, where she shopped some more; took a course at Oxford University; and headed to Italy, where she wandered through Milan, Venice, Rome, and the Tuscan countryside--and shopped a bit more. Chapters begin with postcards sent to Alice from Alice, each with a bit of advice or a lesson learned. Steinbach, divorced and with grown children, appears to be much at ease traveling alone, making new friends along the way. Her mental journey through the past and present and the reassessment of her life, rather than descriptions of the places visited or the people met, are at the heart of the narrative. This pleasant, slightly romantic, but unremarkable journey will find an audience in large public libraries

Jacob has a new favorite series of books that he read to his PopPop on his recent visit - it is the Ricky Ricotta Mighty Robot series by Dave Pilkey of Captain Underpants fame. If you have any young readers in your life who are into robots and space adventure, this may be a great gift.
Product Description
Enter a galaxy of fun and discover how Ricky befriends the Mighty Robot for the first time, before battling such sinister spacemonsters as Mercurian Mosquitoes, Vultures from Venus, and Martian Mecha-Monkeys! Each early chapter book has action-packed Flip-O-Rama and instructions on how to draw each character! Also includes a cool sticker sheet featuring Ricky, his Robot, and all the bad guys! It's a collection that's truly out of this world! "Pilkey fans, science-fiction aficionados, and reluctant readers won't want to miss [this series]."--SLJ
I'd love to hear from more of you about what you're reading these days.

Website of the Week: www.etsy.com - another interesting site for gifts - this is a place where you can buy and sell handcrafted items - I'm pretty impressed with the quality of many of them. Some my very creative friends (you knitters, felters, sewers, quilters, painters, soap makers and altar makers) should consider submitting some of your work on this site.

Podcast of the Week: from American Public Media http://weekendamerica.publicradio.org/collections/podcast/

Vocabulary Word of the Week - gratitude
From Wikipedia
Gratitude, appreciation, or thankfulness is a positive emotion or attitude in acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received or will receive. In contrast to the positive feeling of gratitude, the feeling of indebtedness is a negative reaction to a favor (Tsang, 2006a; Watkins, Scheer, Ovnicek, & Kolts, 2006). Even though our reactions to favors might not always be positive, researchers have found that people express gratitude often. Psychological research has demonstrated that individuals are more likely to experience gratitude when they receive a favor that is perceived to be (1) valued by the recipient, (2) costly to the benefactor, (3) given by the benefactor with benevolent intentions, and (4) given gratuitously (rather than out of role-based obligations) (e.g., Bar-Tal, Bar-Zohar, Greenberg, & Hermon, 1977; Graham, 1988; Lane & Anderson, 1976; Tesser, Gatewood, & Driver, 1968). Individuals who are induced to feel grateful are more likely to behave prosocially toward their benefactor (Tsang, 2006b) or toward unrelated others (Bartlett & DeSteno, 2006).

Gratitude may also serve to reinforce future prosocial behavior in benefactors. For example, Carey and colleagues (Carey, Clicque, Leighton, & Milton, 1976) found that customers of a jewelry store who were called and thanked showed a subsequent 70% increase in purchases. In comparison, customers who were thanked and told about a sale showed only a 30% increase in purchases, and customers who were not called at all did not show an increase. Rind and Bordia (1995) found that restaurant patrons gave bigger tips when their servers wrote “Thank you” on their checks.

Research has also suggested that feelings of gratitude may be beneficial to subjective emotional well-being (Emmons & McCullough, 2003). For example, Watkins and colleagues (Watkins et al., 2003) had participants test a number of different gratitude exercises, such as thinking about a living person for whom they were grateful, writing about someone for whom they were grateful, and writing a letter to deliver to someone for whom they were grateful. Participants in the control condition were asked to describe their living room. Participant who engaged in a gratitude exercise showed increases in their experiences of positive emotion immediately after the exercise, and this effect was strongest for participants who were asked to think about a person for whom they were grateful. Participants who had grateful personalities to begin with showed the greatest benefit from these gratitude exercises. In people who are grateful in general, life events have little influence on experienced gratitude (McCullough, Tsang & Emmons, 2004).

Although gratitude is something that anyone can experience, some people seem to feel grateful more often than others. People who tend to experience gratitude more frequently than do others also tend to be happier, more helpful and forgiving, and less depressed than their less grateful counterparts (Kashdan, Uswatte, & Julian, 2006; McCullough, Emmons, & Tsang, 2002; Watkins, Woodward, Stone, & Kolts, 2003)

Cooking and DIning Report: Several recipes including some dishes that I've made ahead for Thanksgiving

Utlimate Cheater Pulled Pork from The Splendid Table http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/recipes/main_pulledpork.shtml - quite delicious and couldn't be easier!

Mushroom and Fontina Quesadillas from Fine Cooking http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/mushroom-fontina-quesadillas.aspx?nterms=52550&ac=fp - nice light casual dinner.

Pasta with White Sausage Sauce from Mark Bittman of the New York Times http://bitten.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/14/recipe-of-the-day-pasta-with-white-sausage-sauce/ - Helen and I loved this one - I did add garlic and used red wine for the liquid, as he suggested.

Here are the Thanksgiving make-aheads:

Sauteed Mushroom with Oregano from the Romeo Salta Cookbook - check out this blog post from last year http://cookinandbookin.blogspot.com/2007/11/saturday-morning-walkers-november-18.html

Cranberry Sauce with Dried Cherries and Cloves from Bon Appetit - http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cranberry-Sauce-with-Dried-Cherries-and-Cloves-15656

Creamy Red Pepper Soup from Giada de Laurentiis http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/creamy-red-pepper-soup-recipe/index.html - tasted while I was cooking - be liberal with salt and pepper - nice and creamy and no cream in sight - except for the dollop of mascarpone cheese that will go on before serving - that one potato goes a long way.

I want to mention the wonderful Peppery Cheese, Nut and Cornmeal Cookies/Crackers that Rita served the other night. They were fantastic and come from The JimTown Store Cookbook - I can't find the recipe online and it is a bit long to include here so perhaps I'll put it in next week - it made a great appetizer and I am planning on serving it with my soup on Thanksgiving. If you're too intrigued to wait, let me know and I'll send you the recipe separately.

Quote of the Week - from John F. Kennedy on gratitude - fitting at this time leading up to Thanksgiving and following the anniversary of the death of our former President

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."

Wishing everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday - I am most thankful for my family and dear friends for being part of my life.

:Love,
Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - November 16, 2008

2009-02-01T17:56:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!

We had a lovely walk yesterday with Barb, Christie, Jan, Irma joining me at the Grillo Center Labyrinth and then walking west on the Boulder Creek Path just a bit past Eben Fine Park and then back over to the Boulder Bookstore Cafe where Mary and Chris joined us for coffee.
It was kind of bon voyage get together - Barb and Jan are off to Cozumel today for a dive trip and Christie leaves on Tuesday for her trip to Italy.

Book Report:

Barb has started and is enjoying her book group selection of Mr. Pip by Lloyd Jones. There is a connection to Charles Dickens' Great Expectations so some members of the book group are also reading that wonderful classic. Check them both out!

From Publishers Weekly - Mr. Pip
A promising though ultimately overwrought portrayal of the small rebellions and crises of disillusionment that constitute a young narrator's coming-of-age unfolds against an ominous backdrop of war in Jones's latest. When the conflict between the natives and the invading redskin soldiers erupts on an unnamed tropical island in the early 1990s, 13-year-old Matilda Laimo and her mother, Dolores, are unified with the rest of their village in their efforts for survival. Amid the chaos, Mr. Watts, the only white local (he is married to a native), offers to fill in as the children's schoolteacher and teaches from Dickens's Great Expectations. The precocious Matilda, who forms a strong attachment to the novel's hero, Pip, uses the teachings as escapism, which rankles Dolores, who considers her daughter's fixation blasphemous. With a mixture of thrill and unease, Matilda discovers independent thought, and Jones captures the intricate, emotionally loaded evolution of the mother-daughter relationship. Jones (The Book of Fame; Biografi) presents a carefully laid groundwork in the tense interactions between Matilda, Dolores and Mr. Watts, but the extreme violence toward the end of the novel doesn't quite work. Jones's prose is faultless, however, and the story is innovative enough to overcome the misplayed tragedy

Product Description - of Great Expectations
A terrifying encounter with an escaped convict in a graveyard on the wild Kent marshes; a summons to meet the bitter, decaying Miss Havisham and her beautiful, cold-hearted ward Estella; the sudden generosity of a mysterious benefactor - these form a series of events that change the orphaned Pip's life forever, and he eagerly abandons his humble origins to begin a new life as a gentleman. Dickens' haunting late novel depicts Pip's education and development through adversity as he discovers the true nature of his 'great expectations'.

Barb also specifically recommended The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone to Christie as she sets off to Rome. This is a biographical novel of Michelangelo.

Product Description
Fictional depiction of Michelangelo. Includes bibliography, glossary and a list of the artist's works

Chris mentioned a very special magazine that might interest some of you - Where Women Create -
http://www.stampington.com/html/awc_10032008_wwc.html

And according to Jan, the film version of The Secret Life of Bees is as good as the book - can't wait to see it!
http://www.foxsearchlight.com/thesecretlifeofbees/

Website of the Week - another good gift-buying site - http://www.buildanest.com/productlist.asp?categorynumber=6 - heard about this on Jumping Monkeys podcast -
"Nest is a nonprofit organization dedicated to changing the lives of women in developing countries. The mission of Nest is to support women artists and artisans in the developing world by helping them create sustainable entrepreneurial businesses. To do this, Nest provides micro-credit loans to be used for the purchase of the supplies and materials necessary to begin and/or maintain art or craft-based businesses.

The funds for these loans are generated by selling a unique line of clothing, accessories and merchandise for the home produced exclusively for Nest by a group of artists and designers. The Nest line also includes ceramic pottery, womens clothing and other items with the Nest logo. In addition to these exclusive items created by well-known designers, the recipients of Nest loans in developing countries also make their crafts available to Nest as repayment for the micro-credit loans. These items, too, are incorporated into the Nest line of merchandise. In this way, Nest draws together artists from across the globe into a cooperative network with a shared vision of mutual support.

When you buy from Nest, you have not only have purchased a unique and beautiful item for yourself or your home, you have participated in a proven effort to better the lives of women all across the globe. Through our work, and your participation, women all over the world are able to plant their roots in a refuge filled with warmth, solace, comfort and joy. It is our sincere hope that Nest can help you create a home, both for yourself and women the world over, filled with energy, beauty and peace."

Podcast of the Week - President-Elect Barack Obama's Weekly Radio Address - go to Itunes and do a search for that - it is being presented by ABC News and George Stephanopoulis - www.itunes.com or go to ABC News Podcast page http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Podcasting/ and scroll down to the audio podcast for President -Elect Barack Obama to listen on the computer.

Vocabulary Word of the Week - vituperative - I heard this used on one of the cable talk shows - they ought to know the meaning of this word!!
Main Entry:
vi·tu·per·a·tive
Pronunciation:
\vi-'tü-p(?-)r?-tiv, -p?-?ra-\
Function:
adjective
Date:
1727
: uttering or given to censure : containing or characterized by verbal abuse
vi·tu·per·a·tive·ly adverb

Cooking and Dining Report:

I have been baking a lot this week - taking advantage of Jack's being out of town to get a head start on my holiday treats of rugelach and chocolate chip anise biscotti.

The rugelach is from Ina Garten - you can find the recipe at http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/rugelach-recipe/index.html - it is a bit labor-intensive but well worth it.

The biscotti is from Giada de Laurentiis - you can find the recipe at http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/rugelach-recipe/index.html

These are from my two favorites cooks on the Food Network. They both freeze very well, so they're great to make ahead.

I did find a very nice chicken parmigiana recipe that we had last night - from Bobby Flay on the Food Network - http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/chicken-parmigiana-recipe/index.html - I did cheat and use my favorite jarred marinara sauce from Rao's.

Tonight I'm making a favorite roasted mussel dish for Jack and me -from Gourmet Magazine - Mussels with Parsley and Garlic - http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Mussels-with-Parsley -and-Garlic-103175 - thanks to Chris for reminding me about this recipe.

Quote of the Week - from an unknown blogger

"Rosa sat so Martin could walk. Martin walked so Barack could run. Barack is running so our children can fly."

Have a terrific week ahead!

Love,
Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - November 9, 2008

2009-02-01T17:50:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!

We had a great hike Saturday morning - Christie took Barb, Mary, Irma and I out to the Dowdy Draw Trail out on the road to Eldorado Canyon - it was a beautiful morning with spectacular views of the Flatirons.
Jan joined us for coffee back at Caffe Sole and it was good to catch up with everyone.

Many of us are still celebrating the election results and are optimistic that President-Elect Barack Obama will provide the leadership, inspiration and intelligence to navigate our country through these challenging times. We're especially proud that Colorado came through as one of the swing states.

Book Report: I did finish The 19th Wife the other day and do recommend it - I'm looking forward to talking about it at our December book group. I'm not sure what my next read will be - perhaps Lisa See's Peony in Love or Beneath a Marble Sky by John Shors.

Cass wants us to know about a book she just read with her Spanish Language Book Group - she, of course, read it in Spanish but it will be available shortly in English and can be pre-ordered on Amazon - it is called Abril Rojo or Red April by Santiago Roncagliolo
Unfortunately, I can only find a Spanish language review so we'll just take Cass' word that it is a great book. Here's a product description in English:
Product Description
Ayacucho, Peru. Celebrations for the 2000 Holy Week are about to commence and local deputy district attorney FÃ©lix Chacaltana SaldÃ var, a romantic fainthearted individual, is about to face the investigation of a brutal murder. This murder marks the beginning of a series of mysterious deaths, where one by one, the people interviewed by him are eliminated. Faced with such horror, he begins to use the non-traditional methods of the Peruvian police and militia. Abril rojo is a novel about Peru s history and secret codes, a novel about the conflict between the military and the Shinning Path during Fujimori s term.

Website of the Week - over the next several weeks, I will feature some great mail-order gift sites - this one is from Amy's Bread - one of the wonderful bakeries I visited at Chelsea Market in New York - http://www.amysbread.com/shop.htm

Podcast of the Week - Jack broke down recently and got an Iphone and is now listening to podcasts! He particularly likes Rachel Maddow's podcasts from MSNBC -
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/

Vocabulary Word of the Week - emptiness - this word was a topic of discussion at our Study Group this week - it is another of those words that has a different connotation in the Buddhist world than in the way we generally think of it in Western culture.

Excerpts from Wikipedia:

Sociology, philosophy, and psychology
In the West, feeling "empty" is often viewed as a negative condition. Psychologist Clive Hazell, for example, attributes feelings of emptiness to problematic family backgrounds with abusive relationships and mistreatment.[5] He claims that some people who are facing a sense of emptiness try to resolve their painful feelings by becoming addicted to a drug or obsessive activity (be it compulsive sex or gambling) or engaging in "frenzied action" or violence. In sociology, a sense of emptiness is associated with social alienation of the individual. This sense of alienation may be suppressed while working, due to the routine of work tasks, but during leisure hours or during the weekend, people may feels a sense of "existential vacuum" and emptiness.[6]

In cultures where a sense of emptiness is seen as a negative psychological condition, it is often associated with depression. As such, many of the same treatments are proposed: psychotherapy, group therapy, or other types of counselling. As well, people who feel empty may be advised to keep busy and maintain a regular schedule of work and social activities.[citation needed] Other solutions which have been proposed to reduce a sense of emptiness are getting a pet[10][11] or trying Animal-Assisted Therapy; getting involved in spirituality such as meditation or religious rituals and service; volunteering to fill time and brings social contact; doing social interactions, such as community activities, clubs, or outings; or finding a hobby or recreational activity to regain their interest in life

Buddhism
In Buddhism, the realization of emptiness of inherent existence is a "state of pure consciousness in which the practitioner realizes all particular objects and images to be appearances of the subjective mind. Buddhism, which posits that the ultimate state is a Nirva?a of peaceful emptiness has one of the most developed philosophies of emptiness. In an interview, the Dalai Lama stated that Tantric meditiation can be used for "heightening your own realization of emptiness or mind of enlightenment".[21] In Buddhist philosophy, attaining a realization of emptiness of inherent existence is seen as the permanent cessation of suffering, i.e. liberation.

The Dalai Lama argues that a Tantric yoga trainee needs to realize emptiness of inherent existence before they can go on to the "highest Yoga Tantra initiation"; when realizing the innate emptiness of inherent existence of the mind, this is the "fundamental innate mind of clear light, which is the subtlest level of the mind", where all the "energy and mental processes are withdrawn or dissolved", so that all that appears to the mind is "pure emptiness". As well, emptiness is "linked to the creative Void, meaning that it is a state of complete receptivity and perfect enlightenment", the merging of the "ego with its own essence", which Buddhists call the "Clear Light".[22]

In Ven. Thubten Chodrons 2005 interview with Lama Zopa Rinpoche, the Lama noted that we "...ordinary beings who havent realized emptiness dont see things as similar to illusions", and we do not "realize that things are merely labeled by mind and exist by mere name".[3] He argues that "when we meditate on emptiness, we drop an atom bomb on this [sense of a] truly existent I" and we realize that "what appears true... isnt true". By this, the Lama is claiming that what we think is real-our thoughts and feelings about people and things-"exists by being merely labeled". He argues that a meditator who attains a state of emptiness is able to realize that their thoughts are merely illusions that are labelled by the mind.[3]

Cooking and Dining Report:

Judy shared the recipe for this Yucatan Port Stew with Ancho Chiles and Lime Juice from Food and Wine Magazine that she made recently - it looks wonderful!
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/yucatan-pork-stew-with-ancho-chiles-and-lime-juice

Another pork recipe that I made this week was actually a dish that Terrie made for our last book group - it is actually from Whole Foods Market - Roasted Pork Loin Stuffed with Baby Spinach, Pine Nuts and Shitake Mushrooms http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/recipe.php?recipeId=1199 - it was wonderful served with Parmesan Mashed Potatoes from Robert Irvine of the Food Network - http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/robert-irvine/parmesan-mashed-potatoes-recipe/index.html

One other winner this week was from the current issue of Fine Cooking - Pan-Seared Steak with Caper-Anchovy Butter - I used a New York Strip Steak and this butter really added something special - http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/pan-seared-steak-caper-anchovy-butter.aspx

Quote of the Week - from Barack Obama's Election NIght Speech - it was hard to pick just one!

"To those -- to those who would tear the world down: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright: Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope"

Love,

Susan

SAturday Morning Walkers - November 2, 2008

2009-02-01T17:43:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!

I arrived home from New York yesterday and already miss my sweet Sylvie. She and her mom and dad are doing well - oh and of course, Violet (the dog) is adjusting nicely.
I had a very special treat on Thursday - I went on a NY Food Tour of the Chelsea Market (home of Food Network) and the neighboring Meatpacking District (very hip, trendy neighborhood that is home to some very fine restaurants and stores). I had the most wonderful time and got to sample fabulous food from the merchants in Chelsea Market - cookies, biscuits, clam chowder, Italian antipasto, cheese, chocolate milk, tea -
On Friday, my dear friend Sue and her daughter Amanda came to visit us and meet Sylvie. It was great to see them both.

Book Report:

I am almost finished with The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff - this novel was recommended by Libby and I have chosen it for our December book group. I can't put it down! It is a combination of historical fiction and murder mystery set in Mormon Utah - kind of a blend of Law and Order and Big Love.

From The New Yorker
This ambitious third novel tells two parallel stories of polygamy. The first recounts Brigham Young's expulsion of one of his wives, Ann Eliza, from the Mormon Church; the second is a modern-day murder mystery set in a polygamous compound in Utah. Unfolding through an impressive variety of narrative forms—Wikipedia entries, academic research papers, newspaper opinion pieces—the stories include fascinating historical details. We are told, for instance, of Brigham Young's ban on dramas that romanticized monogamous love at his community theatre; as one of Young's followers says, "I ain't sitting through no play where a man makes such a cussed fuss over one woman." Ebershoff demonstrates abundant virtuosity, as he convincingly inhabits the voices of both a nineteenth-century Mormon wife and a contemporary gay youth excommunicated from the church, while also managing to say something about the mysterious power of faith.

Judy really enjoyed Twyla Tharp's The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It For Life

From Publishers Weekly
Perhaps the leading choreographer of her generation, Tharp offers a thesis on creativity that is more complex than its self-help title suggests. To be sure, an array of prescriptions and exercises should do much to help those who feel some pent-up inventiveness to find a system for turning idea into product, whether that be a story, a painting or a song. This free-wheeling interest across various creative forms is one of the main points that sets this book apart and leads to its success. The approach may have been born of the need to reach an audience greater than choreographer hopefuls, and the diversity of examples (from Maurice Sendak to Beethoven on one page) frees the student to develop his or her own patterns and habits, rather than imposing some regimen that works for Tharp. The greatest number of illustrations, however, come from her experiences. As a result, this deeply personal book, while not a memoir, reveals much about her own struggles, goals and achievements. Finally, the book is also a rumination on the nature of creativity itself, exploring themes of process versus product, the influences of inspiration and rigorous study, and much more. It deserves a wide audience among general readers and should not be relegated to the self-help section of bookstores.

Amanda A. mentioned a book to me that I've certainly known about but just haven't gotten around to reading. It is Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma. The book is one of the best she's ever read and it has certainly impacted her life. She really piqued my interest and will move that up on my list of must reads.

From Publishers Weekly
[Signature]Reviewed by Pamela KaufmanPollan (The Botany of Desire) examines what he calls "our national eating disorder" (the Atkins craze, the precipitous rise in obesity) in this remarkably clearheaded book. It's a fascinating journey up and down the food chain, one that might change the way you read the label on a frozen dinner, dig into a steak or decide whether to buy organic eggs. You'll certainly never look at a Chicken McNugget the same way again.Pollan approaches his mission not as an activist but as a naturalist: "The way we eat represents our most profound engagement with the natural world." All food, he points out, originates with plants, animals and fungi. "[E]ven the deathless Twinkie is constructed out of... well, precisely what I don't know offhand, but ultimately some sort of formerly living creature, i.e., a species. We haven't yet begun to synthesize our foods from petroleum, at least not directly."Pollan's narrative strategy is simple: he traces four meals back to their ur-species. He starts with a McDonald's lunch, which he and his family gobble up in their car. Surprise: the origin of this meal is a cornfield in Iowa. Corn feeds the steer that turns into the burgers, becomes the oil that cooks the fries and the syrup that sweetens the shakes and the sodas, and makes up 13 of the 38 ingredients (yikes) in the Chicken McNuggets.Indeed, one of the many eye-openers in the book is the prevalence of corn in the American diet; of the 45,000 items in a supermarket, more than a quarter contain corn. Pollan meditates on the freakishly protean nature of the corn plant and looks at how the food industry has exploited it, to the detriment of everyone from farmers to fat-and-getting-fatter Americans. Besides Stephen King, few other writers have made a corn field seem so sinister.Later, Pollan prepares a dinner with items from Whole Foods, investigating the flaws in the world of "big organic"; cooks a meal with ingredients from a small, utopian Virginia farm; and assembles a feast from things he's foraged and hunted.This may sound earnest, but Pollan isn't preachy: he's too thoughtful a writer, and too dogged a researcher, to let ideology take over. He's also funny and adventurous. He bounces around on an old International Harvester tractor, gets down on his belly to examine a pasture from a cow's-eye view, shoots a wild pig and otherwise throws himself into the making of his meals. I'm not convinced I'd want to go hunting with Pollan, but I'm sure I'd enjoy having dinner with him. Just as long as we could eat at a table, not in a Toyota. (Apr.)Pamela Kaufman is executive editor at Food & Wine magazine.

Website of the Week - www.chelseamarket.com - take a peek at all the shops and events going on at New York's Chelsea Market - keep this in mind for any trips you may have planned to New York

Podcast of the Week - after Amanda told me about Michael Pollan's book, I remembered that I have a podcast on my Iphone from the 92nd Street Y, featuring Michael Pollan and Dan Barber (one of the owners and director of Blue Hill at Stone Barns and the Stone Barn Agricultural Center in Pocantico, NY - this is where Libby and David were married one year ago). I listened to it this morning and strongly recommend it. Hedonistic, Healthy and Green: Can We Have It All? with Michael Pollan, Dan Barber, Joan Dye Gussow
January 8, 2008
Just go to http://www.92y.org/content/on_demand_food.asp and either download to your Ipod or listen on your computer.
Also, check out the website for Blue HIll at Stone Barns - http://www.bluehillstonebarns.com/bhsb.html

Vocabulary Word of the Week - sustainability
From Wikipedia:
Sustainability, in a general sense, is the capacity to maintain a certain process or state indefinitely. In recent years the concept has been applied more specifically to living organisms and systems. As applied to the human community, sustainability has been expressed as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.[1] Given the present level of human numbers, this may be difficult to achieve.[2][3]
The term has its roots in ecology as the ability of an ecosystem to maintain ecological processes, functions, biodiversity and productivity into the future.[4] To be sustainable, nature’s resources must be used at a rate at which they can be replenished naturally. There is now clear scientific evidence from environmental science that humanity is living unsustainably, and that an unprecedented collective effort is needed to keep human use of natural resources within sustainable limits.[5][6]

Sustainability has become a controversial and complex term that is applied in many different ways: to different levels of biological organization (e.g. wetlands, prairies, forests), human organization (e.g. ecovillages, eco-municipalities, sustainable cities) and human activities and disciplines (e.g. sustainable agriculture, sustainable architecture).

Cooking and Dining Report:

I did a bit of cooking for Libby and David this week - here are the recipes:

Sear-Roasted Haddock or Cod with Horseradish Aioli and Lemon-Zest Breadcrumbs from Fine Cooking - it was quite delicious with cod - I would use a lot less of the parsley "salad" as the topping. - http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/sear-roasted-fish-aioli-breadcrumbs.aspx

Veal Milanese from Trattoria di Lupo in The Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas

1 pound veal scallopine, pounded thin (could substitute turkey cutlets)
4 ounces baby arugula, washed and dried
6 ounces (1 large) vine ripened tomatoes, diced
1/2 teaspoon parsley, leaves roughly chopped
1 ounce parmigiano-reggiano shaved
1/4 ounce lemon juice
1.5 ounces creme fraiche
1/2 fennel bulb, shaved
1/2 ounce fresh squeezed orange juice
1 cup bread crumbs, untoasted
2 ounces olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Season the veal with salt and pepper and lightly coat them with creme fraiche.
Then dredge the veal in the breadcrumbs. Pan or ddep fry the veal until golden brown, then season lightly with salt and rest on a paper towel to absorb the residual oil.
Mix the diced tomatoes with 1 ounce of the olive oil, the parsley, a few drops of lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Mix the arugula, fennel, orange juice and remaining ounce of olive oil together in a bowl and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Place the veal on a platter or individual plates and divide the marinated tomatoes over the cutlets. Top each with the salad mixture and then garnish with the parmigiano-reggiano. Veal should be warm or room temperature.

Chicken Thighs Baked with Lemon, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme
http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/chicken_thighs_lemon_herbs.aspx

Catalan Mushrooms with Garlic and Parsley
http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/catalan_mushrooms.aspx
Spinach with Pine Nuts and Raisins (I left out the raisins 'cause Libby doesn't like them)
http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/spinach_with_pine_nuts_raisins.aspx

Quote of the Week -
"There's only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's your own self. So you have to begin there, not outside, not on other people. That comes afterward, when you've worked on your own corner." Aldous Huxley, Time Must Have a Stop

Have a wonderful week ahead - PLEASE DO WHATEVER YOU CAN TO HELP GET OUT THE VOTE!!!!!!!

Love,
Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - October 26, 2008

2009-01-04T08:59:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!

I'm still here in Brooklyn with Sylvie Lila and her mom and dad. I'll stay the rest of this coming week and head home on Saturday, November 1. I haven't made much progress in the reading department since last week but I did buy a few books yesterday - I'll just add them to the growing stack - so much for my promise to myself to not buy any books until I'd worked my way through the existing stack on my shelf. I couldn't resist the flea market sale around the corner - 3 paperbacks for $12.

Website of the Week - PBS Washington Week with Gwen Ifill - http://www.pbs.org/weta/washingtonweek/

Podcast of the Week - http://www.booksoup.com/podcast/index.asp - Mandy A. - thanks for tip about the Court Street Bookstore where I found this podcast.

Vocabulary Word of Week - bloviate - seems a fitting word in the midst of this political climate.

To bloviate means "to speak pompously and excessively," or "to expound ridiculously." A colloquial verb coined in the United States, it is commonly used with contempt to describe the behavior of politicians, academics, pundits or media "experts," sometimes called bloviators, who hold forth on subjects in an arrogant, tiresome way.
Some speculate that bloviate derives from adding a faux-Latin ending to the verb 'to blow' or boast, following a 19th-century fad of adding Latin-like affixes to ordinary words. However, others like William Safire claim that 'bloviate' comes from combining the words 'blow-hard' and 'deviation.'

Although 'bloviate' is listed in slang dictionaries as far back as the 19th century, the term was popularized by President Warren G. Harding in the 1920s. Famed for his poor English usage, Harding often used the word to describe his long, winding speaking style. The term dropped from popular usage following his presidency but was resurrected in the 1960s when it was sometimes used in reference to Harding.

It became widely spoken again in the 1990s. Today, it appears regularly in The New York Times, The New Yorker and the Washington Post.

The term is used frequently by Fox News commentator, Bill O'Reilly whose show, The O'Reilly Factor concludes with requests for email. The request for feedback, sometimes includes: "Please do not bloviate, [that's] my job."

'Bloviating' has taken on new life in the blogosphere, used derisively to identify and otherwise chide the most pompous of contributors to message boards and forums.

Cooking and Dining Report:

Lots of cooking going on here in Brooklyn - here's what we've had so far - many of these recipes have been posted in the blog before but I'll include the links again:

Monday night - good old Lamb Stew with Chippoline Onions from Giada de Laurentiis - http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/lamb-stew-with-cipolline-onions-and-potatoes-recipe/index.html

Tuesday night - Giada de Laurentiis' Ribolitta - http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/ribollita-recipe/index.html

Wednesday night - Epicurious.com's Flank Steak with Crispy Polenta and Roasted Shallot Vinaigrette - http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/FLANK-STEAK-WITH-CRISPY-POLENTA-AND-ROASTED-SHALLOT-VINAIGRETTE-101713

Thursday night - David's family (Cora and David and Aunt Carrie and Uncle Jerry) arrived and we had delivery pizza!!

Friday night when Jack arrived we had Giada's Short Ribs with Tagliatelle (couldn't find tagliatelle pasta right in this neighborhood so I used fettucine - just be sure and use a nice wide noodle) http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/short-ribs-with-tagliatelle-recipe/index.html

This week I'm going to walk over to an Italian neighborhood to do some grocery shopping.

Two favorite lunch selections showed up a couple of times:

Cooked shrimp (purchased cooked) tossed with pesto (store-bought) - a great combination and couldn't be easier - this was a suggestion from Mark Bittman from the New York Times

Apricot and Chicken Bruschetta from Giada de Laurentiis - http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_159123,00.html - this is a great lunch using large slices of Ciabatta or even a light dinner.3

Saturday breakfast for a crowd - this one is great since you can totally assemble it the night before and pop it in the oven in the morning - Breakfast Egg Strata with Sausage, Mushroom and Monterey Jack Cheese - http://crumblycookie.wordpress.com/2008/04/17/breakfast-strata-with-sausage-mushrooms-and-monterey-jack/

I've had the weekend "off" so yesterday Jack and I took the subway across the river to Union Square - amazing farmers market and great part of town. Poked around the huge Strand bookstore and then had wonderful coffee at a Dean and Deluca Cafe. In the afternoon, we met our friend Jesse for lunch at Dumont Burgers here in Williamsburg - Jack and Jesse actually had the pulled pork special and I had "to-die-for" mac and cheese. http://www.dumontrestaurant.com/dburger.html

David made wonderful steaks (he marinates them in Peter Luger steak sauce) on the grill last night with roasted asparagus and potatoes au gratin - yum. For the potatoes au gratin, peel and slice 6 Idaho potatoes (about 1/8" thick), spread them in an oven-proof 9x13 pan, sprinkle with salt, pepper and nutmeg and slices of butter, pour heavy cream on top, sprinkle with grated swiss chees and a bit more nutmeg and bake at 350 degrees until the top is nicely brown and crusty and sauce is bubbly.

Tonight, Jack and I are going out to dinner and give Libby, David and Sylvie Lila a bit of time to themselves.

Quote of the Week - from Lisa Shepherd
"In raising my children, I have lost my mind but found my soul"

Have a wonderful week ahead!

Love,

Susan

Susan Wadle

Grillo Center Labyrinth
www.grillocenter.org

Check out my blog at http://cookinandbookin.blogspot.com/

Please note my new e-mail address is susan@well.com
Phone 303-417-1098
Fax 303-417-1122
1765 Hawthorn Place
Boulder, CO 80304

Saturday Morning Walkers - October 19, 2008

2008-10-22T04:49:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Brooklyn, New York - I am thrilled to announce the arrival of Sylvie Lila Potter, Libby and David's beautiful daughter and our granddaugher. She was born on Friday, October 17, 2008 at 12:39 PM weighing 6 pounds 7 ounces and measuring 19 inches. Libby and Sylvie are doing so well together - Sylvie seems to know exactly what to do and Libby is pretty relaxed. I arrived at NYU Medical Center late Friday afternoon and have been enjoying being with my new sweet granddaughter. They came home from the hospital on Saturday afternoon and were so happy to be home in Brooklyn.

It was good to settle in today and I made my Lamb Stew with Cippoline Onions for dinner. Please see earlier posts for that recipe - it is such comfort food. Tomorrow will probably be Roast Chicken - always a favorite of Libby's.

Needless to say, I haven't been reading much since I got here. I am reading Jack Kornfield's A Path With Heart for our now weekly study group. I will miss that this week and perhaps next week but want to keep up with the chapters we're reading. We discussed the first chapter last Thursday. It really does build on the material covered in A New Earth but with a very different tone and perspective.

I'm not prepared to include our ususal features but I will include a Quote of the Week:'
Henry David Thoreau
"Every child begins the world again"
Thank you to Sylvie and Jacob for beginning our world again.

Have a wonderful week!

Love,
Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - October 12, 2008

2008-10-22T04:43:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

It sure was good to reunite with my Saturday Morning Walkers yesterday - it was an unusual rainy day here in Boulder, so we just enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at Breadworks and caught up a bit with Chris, Barb, Mary, Andrea, Laila and Christie.

I'm pleased to let you know that our A New Earth Study Group completed the final chapter of Eckhard Tolle's book this past week. We will continue to meet and will start working on Jack Kornfield's A Path With Heart. Even if you're not meeting with us on Thursday mornings, I would really encourage you to pick up a copy of this book and read along with us. I'm considering setting up a separate blog for our study group discussions and invite anyone to participate. I'll keep you posted on that.

Book Report:

I finished Peony by Pearl S. Buck - just an ok read for me - it was an interesting storyline based on true events involving a Jewish community in 19th century China.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Peony is set in the 1850s in the city of Kaifeng, in the province of Henan, which was historically a center for Jews. The novel follows Peony, a Chinese bondmaid of the prominent Jewish family of Ezra ben Israel, and shows through her eyes how the Jewish community was regarded in Kaifeng at a time when most of the Jews had come to think of themselves as Chinese. The novel contains a hidden love and shows the importance of duty along with the challenges of life. This novel is one that follows the guidelines of Buck's work. The setting is China, religion is involved, and there is an interracial couple (David and Kulien).

Chris is loving listening to Isabel Allende's second memoir, Sum of All Days.

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. In this deeply revealing second memoir, after Paula, novelist Allende (The House of Spirits) utilizes her family and the complex network of their relationships as the linchpin of the narrative. While weaving in her candid opinions on love and marriage, friendship, drug addiction, the writing life and religious fanaticism, Allende continues to work through the grief over her daughter's death. In these years without you I have learned to manage sadness, making it my ally. Little by little your absence and other losses in my life are turning into a sweet nostalgia. And though Allende's insight is keen, her prose polished and her language hypnotic, it's the stories of her close-knit family that move the memoir forward. We lived as a tribe, Chilean style; we were almost always together. While much of the story is infused with melancholy, her world is by no means without humor, mirth and wisdom. She celebrates friends' triumphs and exploits their foibles, including the odyssey of the boobs, without taking herself too seriously. This is a book to savor.

Mary read the classic The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett

Amazon.com Review
The Thin Man, Dashiell Hammett's classic tale of murder in Manhattan, became the popular movie series with William Powell and Myrna Loy, and both the movies and the novel continue to captivate new generations of fans.
Nick and Nora Charles, accompanied by their schnauzer, Asta, are lounging in their suite at the Normandie in New York City for the Christmas holiday, enjoying the prerogatives of wealth: meals delivered at any hour, theater openings, taxi rides at dawn, rubbing elbows with the gangster element in speakeasies. They should be annoyingly affected, but they charm. Mad about each other, sardonic, observant, kind to those in need, and cool in a fight, Nick and Nora are graceful together, and their home life provides a sanctuary from the rough world of gangsters, hoodlums, and police investigations into which Nick is immediately plunged.

A lawyer-friend asks Nick to help find a killer and reintroduces him to the family of Richard Wynant, a more-than-eccentric inventor who disappeared from society 10 years before. His former wife, the lush and manipulative Mimi, has remarried a European fortune hunter who turns out to be a vindictive former associate of her first husband and is bent on the ruin of Wynant's family fortune. Wynant's children, Dorothy and Gilbert, seem to have inherited the family aversion to straight talk. Dorothy, who has matured into a beautiful young woman, has a crush on Nick, and so, in a hero-worshipping way, does mama's boy Gilbert. Nick and Nora respond kindly to their neediness as Nick tries to make sense of misinformation, false identities, far-fetched alibis, and, at the center of the confusion, the mystery of The Thin Man, Richard Wynant. Is he mad? Is he a killer? Or is he really an eccentric inventor protecting his discovery from intellectual theft?

The dialogue is spare, the locales lively, and Nick, the narrator, shows us the players as they are, while giving away little of his own thoughts. No one is telling the whole truth, but Nick remains mostly patient as he doggedly tries to backtrack the lies. Hammett's New York is a cross between Damon Runyon and Scott Fitzgerald--more glamorous than real, but compelling when visited in the company of these two charmers. The lives of the rich and famous don't get any better than this! --Barbara Schlieper

Laila is lukewarm about Byron Katie's Loving What Is - she compared her approach to Eckhard Tolle's A New Earth but found it much more confusing. I know that Oprah has interviewed Katie but I haven't listened to those interviews yet.

Amazon.com Review
Remember the phrase "question authority"? Loving What Is is a workbook on questioning authority--but in this case, what is in question is the authority of our own fundamental beliefs about our relationships.

Known simply as "The Work," Byron Katie's methods are clean and straightforward. The basis is a series of four questions addressed to your own lists of written assumptions. Whether you're angry with your boss, frustrated with your teen's behavior, or appalled at the state of the world's environment, Katie suggests you write down your most honest thoughts on the matter, and then begin the examination. Starting with, "Is it true?" and continuing with explorations of "Who would you be without that thought?" this method allows you to get through unhelpful preconceptions and find peace. An integral part of the process is "turning the thought around," and at first this can seem like you're simply blaming yourself for everything. Push a little harder, and you'll find a very responsible acceptance of reality, beyond questions of fault and blame.

The book is filled with examples of folks applying The Work to a variety of life situations, and reading other's examples gets the idea across pretty clearly; chances are you'll find your own frustrations echoed on the pages a few times. Many chapters are divided into specific topics, such as couples, money, addictions, and self-judgments, with one chapter devoted to exploring the method with children.

Website of the Week - NPR's Planet Money - http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/ - several NPR correspondents have put together an excellent website dealing with our current financial situation.

Podcast of the Week - This American Life's podcast featuring the NPR correspondents from Planet Money - actually in two parts - a very clear discussion of our current financial situation - do check them both out
http://www.thislife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=355
http://www.thislife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=365

Vocabulary Word of the Week - actually two words this week coming out of our discussion at our A New Earth study group - we had a very lively discussion about whether or not when you accept a situation, does that imply that you condone. For example, can you accept that mistreatment of children goes on in the world without condoning it?

Acceptance - Wikipedia gives the "spiritual" interpretation that I think Eckhard Tolle and other spiritual thinkers intend with its use:
Acceptance, in spirituality, mindfulness, and human psychology, usually refers to the experience of a situation without an intention to change that situation. Indeed, acceptance is often suggested when a situation is both disliked and unchangeable, or when change may be possible only at great cost or risk. Acceptance may imply only a lack of outward, behavioral attempts at possible change, but the word is also used more specifically for a felt or hypothesized cognitive or emotional state. Thus someone may decide to take no action against a situation and yet be said to have not accepted it.
Because the dictionary definition includes the concept of approval, it is important to note that in the psychospiritual use of the term infers non-judgmental Acceptance.

Acceptance is contrasted with resistance, but that term has strong political and psychoanalytic connotations not applicable in many contexts. By groups and by individuals, acceptance can be of various events and conditions in the world; individuals may also accept elements of their own thoughts, feelings, and personal histories. For example, psychotherapeutic treatment of a person with depression or anxiety could involve fostering acceptance either for whatever personal circumstances may give rise to those feelings or for the feelings themselves. (Psychotherapy could also involve lessening an individual's acceptance of various situations.)

Notions of acceptance are prominent in many faiths and meditation practices. For example, Buddhism's first noble truth, "All life is suffering", invites people to accept that suffering is a natural part of life. The term "Kabbalah" means literally acceptance.

Condoning -
con·done (kn-dn)
tr.v. con·doned, con·don·ing, con·dones
To overlook, forgive, or disregard (an offense) without protest or censure

Cooking and Dining Report:

From cooking blog Wednesday's Chef, Barbara Fairchild's (Bon Appetit) Spicy Roast Chicken - really quick and easy for a busy weeknight - quite delicious!

Spicy Roast Chicken
Serves 4

24 ounces whole cherry tomatoes (about 4 cups), stemmed
1/4 cup olive oil
5 garlic cloves, pressed
1 1/4 teaspoons dried crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh marjoram, divided (or 1 tablespoon dried rosemary, and none for garnish)
4 bone-in chicken breasts (10 to 12 ounces each)
Salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Toss the tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, crushed red pepper and 1 tablespoon marjoram in a large bowl to combine.

2. Place the chicken on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour the tomato mixture over the chicken, arranging the tomatoes in a single layer on the sheet around the chicken. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast until the chicken is cooked through and the tomatoes are blistered, about 35 minutes.

3. Transfer the chicken to plates. Spoon the tomatoes and juices over the chicken. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon marjoram and serve.

From Mark Bittman of the New York Times a Free-form Apple Tart - a perfect dessert for a chilly autumn night! http://bitten.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/10/recipe-of-the-day-free-form-apple-or-pear-tart/

Quote of the Week - from Pema Chodron, When Things Fall Apart
"This very moment is the perfect teacher..... the most precious opportunity presents itself when you think you can't handle whatever is happening."

Saturday Morning Walkers - October 5, 2008

2008-10-22T04:38:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

Just got back from Los Angeles. I arrived on Thursday and my first stop was lunch at The Little Flower Candy Shop and Cafe. I was warmly greeted by owner and Jexy's friend Christine Moore. Check out this review from Jonathan Gold from LA Weekly - http://www.laweekly.com/locations/little-flower-candy-company-cafe-238827/. I had a wonderful turkey sandwich and took home a few chocolate chip cookies. On Friday, after dropping Jacob and Tyler off at school, I headed back over for a fabulous almond croissant. Feeling quite satisfied after that, I was "forced" to sample a taste of a new creation that Christine had just taken out of the oven - it was a mini - Christmas Brioche with cranberries and pistachios - I left there quite full and with a sugar high but it was worth it. I then headed into Old Town Pasadena to pick up a few things at the new Whole Foods for our dinners on Friday and Saturday night - more about that later. Saturday, Joe, Jacob and I met Grandma Barbara and Grandpa Morry at the Skirball Cultural Center to hang out at the Noah's Ark exhibit. This was my second visit and it is still just as amazing to visit there.

I haven't finished a book this week but am enjoying Pearl S. Buck's book, Peony. I'll report on that next week.

Barbara Rowland has two recommendations - a book and a movie:

The book is a fictionalized memoir, What is the What by Dave Eggers

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Valentino Achak Deng, real-life hero of this engrossing epic, was a refugee from the Sudanese civil war-the bloodbath before the current Darfur bloodbath-of the 1980s and 90s. In this fictionalized memoir, Eggers (A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius) makes him an icon of globalization. Separated from his family when Arab militia destroy his village, Valentino joins thousands of other "Lost Boys," beset by starvation, thirst and man-eating lions on their march to squalid refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya, where Valentino pieces together a new life. He eventually reaches America, but finds his quest for safety, community and fulfillment in many ways even more difficult there than in the camps: he recalls, for instance, being robbed, beaten and held captive in his Atlanta apartment. Eggers's limpid prose gives Valentino an unaffected, compelling voice and makes his narrative by turns harrowing, funny, bleak and lyrical. The result is a horrific account of the Sudanese tragedy, but also an emblematic saga of modernity-of the search for home and self in a world of unending upheaval.

The movie is Live and Become directed and written by Ra-du Mihaileanu
Review
LIVE AND BECOME **** Starring Yael Abecassis, Roschdy Zem, Moshe Agazai, Mosche Abebe and Sirak M. Sabahat. Directed and written by Ra-du Mihaileanu. Produced by Denis Carol, Marie Masmonteil and Radii Mihaileanu. A Menemsha release. Drama. Aramaic-, Hebrew- and French-language; subtitled. Not yet rated. Running time: 144 min. "Live and Become" received a rare standing ovation at the Telluride Film Festival, evidence of the emotional power of a remarkable journey of discovery. The film centers on the plight of Ethiopian Jews, called Falashas, forced to flee to Sudanese refugee camps for relief from persecution and famine. In 1984, "Operation Moses" begins the airlift of Falashas to Israel. A Christian woman in a refugee camp wants a better life for her nine-year-old son (Moshe Agazai). She orders him to pretend to be Jewish so he can be airlifted out. After a poignant silent glance with the boy's mother, a Falasha woman whose son has recently died takes the boy's hand as she boards the plane to Israel. She names him Schlomo and passes him off as her own son. But in Israel, the adopted mother dies. Agazai gives Schlomo a face full of sadness as he yearns for his mother back in Africa. Schlomo is mystified by life in Israel, which is radically different from anything he had ever known. He is adopted by a liberal Israeli couple, Yael (Yael Abecassis) and Yoram (Roschdy Zem), with two children. Yael becomes a fiery defender of Schlomo against the prejudices he faces as he begins a new life. Schlomo must create a new identity while facing hostility as a black immigrant and always fearing discovery as a non-Jew. His struggles are extremely affecting. In the distinctive cast, non-professionals seamlessly mix with accomplished actors while "Live and Become" builds to an unforgettable final image. --Ed Scheid, Box Office Magazine

Amanda Aaron posted a book that she liked on Facebook - Identical Strangers: A Memoir of wins Separated and Reunited by Elyse Schein and Paula Bernsein- I think I saw them interviewed last year when the hardback was released - it is a remarkable story.

From Publishers Weekly
In this transfixing memoir, Bernstein, a freelance writer, and Schein, a filmmaker, take turns recounting the story of how each woman, at age 35, discovered she had an identical twin sister, and the reunion that followed. Despite disparate upbringings, education and work experiences, the twins share matching wild hand gestures, allergies, speech patterns and a penchant for the same art movies. Louise Wise Services, the adoption agency, will reveal only that their biological mother was schizophrenic and unaware of who their father was. Records of the study the agency conducted about them are sealed, so the authors spearhead their own research project by poring over birth records, tracking down their birth mother's brother and interviewing researchers, who claim that twins raised apart are more similar than those raised together. Much of the book is devoted to fascinating stories of other twins and triplets who, when reunited as adults, are shocked by how much they have in common with one another. Bernstein and Schein's relationship becomes extremely close and also fraught with expectation. Once you find someone, Bernstein writes, you can't unfind her.

Website of the Week - Rae forwarded an email about this site - www.armyofwomen.org - this is a site focused on Dr. Susan Love's work to eliminate breast cancer entirely. Please do check it out and get involved!

Podcast of the Week - The Loh Life by Sandra Loh http://www.scpr.org/news/segments/segment.php?segment=loh_life. I found this one on Joe's list of podcasts that he listens to regularly - I haven't heard it yet myself - let's check it out this week

Vocaulary Word of the Week - suggested by Joe Rowland - taciturn
Etymology

From French taciturne or Latin taciturnus, from tacitus (“secret, tacit”).
Pronunciation
(RP) IPA: /ˈtæsɪtɜːn/
(US) IPA: /ˈtæsətɝːn/
Adjective
taciturn (comparative more taciturn, superlative most taciturn)
Silent; temperamentally untalkative; disinclined to speak.
The two sisters could hardly have been more different, one so boisterous and expressive, the other so taciturn and calm.
Synonyms
(silent): reticent, untalkative
Antonyms
(silent): garrulous, loquacious
Derived terms
tacit
tacitly
tacitness
taciturnity
taciturnly
[edit]Translations
[show ▼]untalkative, silent

Cooking and Dining Report:

Last night's dinner was Ina Garten's Parmesan Chicken Sticks (I left out the actual sticks) - http://www.recipezaar.com/208432\

Saturday night's dinner was Giada de Laurentiis' Lamb Stew with Cippoline Onions - http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0.FOOD 9936 31642.00html?rsrc=search

Joe and I both love lamb; Jexy and Jack do not, so this was a perfect opportunity to make this dish.

Quote of the Week - It is not so much our friends' help that helps us, as the confidence of their help.
Epicurus
To all my friends, have a wonderful week....

Love,
Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - September 28, 2008

2008-10-20T03:31:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

Wow - just got back from a wonderful weekend at the Literary Sojourn in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Janet, Chris, Rita, Judy, Cynthia and I spent the weekend at our fabulous condo - needless to say, we ate very well - check out some of the recipes and restaurant review below. Just three of us actually attended the Sojourn on Saturday - Janet, Judy and me. We completed a table of ten with 7 members of Barbara Lamm's book group. Thanks so much to Kathy F., Angela, Jeannie, Susan, Tony, Kathy H. and Barb for including us with your group. Once again, the event did not disappoint - overall the writers' presentations were excellent!

Here's just a bit on each of them:

Andrew Sean Greer (The Good Marriage) - focused on how he transformed what had been a short story into a novel.

Elizabeth Strout (Olive Kitteridge) - In talking about her journey to becoming a published author at 40 years old, "for a writer, nothing, no experience is ever wasted".

Nathaniel Philbrick (Mayflower) - was the only non-fiction writer - he is a former journalist with a passion for sailing and history. He described his style as "narrative non-fiction"

Manil Suri (The Age of Shiva) - a mathematics professor at the University of Maryland also came late to fiction writing and began it as a hobby. This book is the second in a trilogy. The first is The Death of Vishnu)

Karen Joy Fowler (The Jane Austen Book Club) - she won the prize for the most entertaining presenter - she also talked about her journey to becoming a published writer.

Website/Blog of the Week - www.bookmooch.com - I've included this site before but it is worth reminding you about this really excellent book swapping site - I have posted books on this site and received many used books in excellent condition.

Podcast of the Week - NPR's Book Tour - http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10448909

Vocabulary Word of the Week - contributed by Barb Lamm - eremitic

er·e·mite (âr-mt)
n.
A recluse or hermit, especially a religious recluse.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Middle English, from Late Latin ermta; see hermit.]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ere·mitic (-mtk), ere·miti·cal adj.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Adj. 1. eremitic - of or relating to or befitting eremites or their practices of hermitic living; "eremitic austerities"
eremitical
cenobitic, cenobitical, coenobitic, coenobitical - of or relating to or befitting cenobites or their practices of communal living
2. eremitic - characterized by ascetic solitude; "the eremitic element in the life of a religious colony"; "his hermitic existence"
anchoritic, hermitic, hermitical, eremitical
unworldly - not concerned with the temporal world or swayed by mundane considerations; "was unworldly and did not greatly miss worldly rewards"- Sheldon Cheney

Cooking and Dining Report:

The Creekside Cafe and Grille in Steamboat Springs, Colorado - we had lunch here on Friday afternoon and breakfast on Sunday morning - both were wonderful meals that we enjoyed sitting outside next to the creek in downtown Steamboat - http://creekside-cafe.com/ - don't miss it on your next visit to Steamboat.

Friday night, before settling down for the DEBATE, we shared some wonderful appetizers and Judy's "best ever" chocolate whopper cookies. Here are a few of the recipes:

Janet's Chicken Satay from Tyler Florence on The Food Network - http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/chicken-satay-with-peanut-sauce-recipe/index.html

Chris' Mussels in Marinara Sauce - just put the mussels in a saucepan with jarred Marinara Sauce, heat until mussels open - be sure to discard any that do not open - easy, wonderful treat!

Cynthia's original recipe - we named it Boatman Holiday Shrimp

1 1/2 pounds raw shrimp
10 slices proscuitto, cut into think strips
10 slices provolone
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 shallots, chopped
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup white wine

Sauté shallots and garlic in butter until soft, add wine.
Wrap shrimp in proscuitto slices and place in a row in a casserole dish. Top with provolone slices, add another row of wrapped shrimp and top with provolone.
Add sautéed garlic, shallot and wine mixture over the shrimp.
Bake at 350 F. for 1/2 hour or until shrimp is done and cheese is melted

Susan's Egg Pappardelle with Bagna Cauda, Wilted Radicchio and an Olive Oil Fried Egg from Los Angeles Chef, Nancy Silverton
Serves 4

For the pappardelle and bagna cauda:
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
15 anchovy fillets
8 large garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
12 radicchio leaves, torn into small pieces
Grated zest and juice of half a lemon
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces egg pappardelle

For finishing the dish:
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 large eggs
Parmesan cheese
1 heaping tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

1. To make the bagna cauda, place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, anchovies and garlic and cook, breaking up the anchovies with a fork and stirring constantly, until the anchovies dissolve and the garlic is soft and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat, stir in the parsley, radicchio and lemon zest and juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

2. Prepare the pasta by bringing a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add enough kosher salt until the water tastes salty and return to a boil. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente.

3. To finish the dish, heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat until the oil is almost smoking, about 2 minutes. Break 1 egg into a small bowl and pour into the skillet. When it just begins to set around the edges, break the second egg into the bowl and pour into the skillet. (By waiting a moment before adding the next egg, the eggs won’t stick together.) Repeat with the remaining 2 eggs. Cook until the edges are golden, the whites are set and the yolks are still runny.

4. Use tongs to lift the pasta out of the water and transfer it quickly, while it’s dripping with water, to the skillet with the bagna cauda. Place the skillet over high heat. Toss the pasta to combine the ingredients and cook for 1 to 2 minutes more.

5. Using tongs, divide the pasta among 4 plates, twisting it into mounds. Grate a generous layer of cheese over each. Place an egg over the cheese. Sprinkle the parsley over the pasta and serve with more grated cheese and pepper.

Judy's Chocolate Whopper Cookies from Foster's Market in North Carolina - http://www.fostersmarket.com/recipes.php?recipe_id=35

Saturday night after Margaritas and snacks at the Rio, we headed home and enjoyed Rita's Artichoke Dip(need that recipe), Judy's quiche (thanks to Whole Foods) and leftovers from Friday.

Quote of the Week - When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left, I buy food and clothes. - Desiderius Erasmus

I'm just home for a few days and heading out to LA on Thursday to help take care of Jacob while Jexy goes off to a work-related conference in Montreal. Have a great week!

Love,

Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - September 21, 2008

2008-10-20T03:22:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

Laila took Chris, Irma and me on a beautiful walk out at Teller Farm. We went to a new cafe out at 95th and Arapahoe - The Curiousity Cup - very nice with a great outdoor patio. Right next door is the Indulgence Bakery with some mighty fine looking treats.

Book Report:

I finished Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos - kind of Lifetime TV movie caliber - not great literature but somehow I was drawn in to the story. Not sure I'd recommend this one.

From Publishers Weekly
Cornelia Brown, heroine of de los Santos's bestselling Love Walked In, returns in a gracefully written if formulaic sophomore effort. Cornelia and her husband, Teo, move to suburban Philadelphia, where she finds it difficult to fit into the sorority-like atmosphere. Despite a bevy of domestic dramas (planning a family among them), Cornelia's first-person chapters are the quietest of the three points of view. Seemingly shallow and vicious, neighbor Piper shows her kinder side as she struggles through her best friend's fight against cancer. Though the extreme of Piper's two-facedness isn't convincing, her moments of sincerity invite genuine empathy. Cornelia also yields narrative time to Dev, a precocious teenager whose father is missing and whose mother develops a friendship with Cornelia. Dev's connection to the story is initially unclear, though he does grow close to Clare, a troubled teenager with an unconventional connection to Cornelia, and a late-breaking development grounds his role more firmly. Though each story line is a good read on its own, they don't always braid nicely, and while the predictable plot wanders into sappiness, the prose is polished and the suburban travails are familiar enough that fans of the women's fiction and higher-brow mommy lit will relate.

Jexy and her book group are reading the first in the Stephanie Meyer series - Twilight - apparently written for young adults, they are enjoying it.

Amazon.com Review
"Softly he brushed my cheek, then held my face between his marble hands. 'Be very still,' he whispered, as if I wasn't already frozen. Slowly, never moving his eyes from mine, he leaned toward me. Then abruptly, but very gently, he rested his cold cheek against the hollow at the base of my throat."
As Shakespeare knew, love burns high when thwarted by obstacles. In Twilight, an exquisite fantasy by Stephenie Meyer, readers discover a pair of lovers who are supremely star-crossed. Bella adores beautiful Edward, and he returns her love. But Edward is having a hard time controlling the blood lust she arouses in him, because--he's a vampire. At any moment, the intensity of their passion could drive him to kill her, and he agonizes over the danger. But, Bella would rather be dead than part from Edward, so she risks her life to stay near him, and the novel burns with the erotic tension of their dangerous and necessarily chaste relationship.

Meyer has achieved quite a feat by making this scenario completely human and believable. She begins with a familiar YA premise (the new kid in school), and lulls us into thinking this will be just another realistic young adult novel. Bella has come to the small town of Forks on the gloomy Olympic Peninsula to be with her father. At school, she wonders about a group of five remarkably beautiful teens, who sit together in the cafeteria but never eat. As she grows to know, and then love, Edward, she learns their secret. They are all rescued vampires, part of a family headed by saintly Carlisle, who has inspired them to renounce human prey. For Edward's sake they welcome Bella, but when a roving group of tracker vampires fixates on her, the family is drawn into a desperate pursuit to protect the fragile human in their midst. The precision and delicacy of Meyer's writing lifts this wonderful novel beyond the limitations of the horror genre to a place among the best of YA fiction. (Ages 12 and up) --Patty Campbell

Website of the Week - http://www.rosengartenreport.com/ - for the best of everything related to food

Podcast of the Week - from NPR, Political Rewind - http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_detail.php?siteId=94411892

Vocabulary Word of the Week - grace

We had quite a lively discussion of this word at our New Earth Study Group this week - Eckhard Tolle used it in the following way - "The initiation of the awakening process is an act of grace. You cannot make it happen nor can you prepare yourself for it or accumulate credits toward it...............Only the first awakening, the first glimpse of consciousness without thought, happens by grace, without any doing on your part"

Just a few definitions from ARDictionary.com

Definition: The exercise of love, kindness, mercy, favor; disposition to benefit or serve another; favor bestowed or privilege conferred.
Definition: The divine favor toward man; the mercy of God, as distinguished from His justice; also, any benefits His mercy imparts; divine love or pardon; a state of acceptance with God; enjoyment of the divine favor.
Definition: Inherent excellence; any endowment or characteristic fitted to win favor or confer pleasure or benefit.
Definition: Beauty, physical, intellectual, or moral; loveliness; commonly, easy elegance of manners; perfection of form.

Cooking and Dining Report:

Mallomars - I grew up with these treats and got this recipe for a homemade versionthat was demo'd on The Today Show this week -
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26775825/

I made a really simple roast butterflied (backbone removed) chicken this week flavoring it with prepared olive tapenade under the skin, a little olive oil, salt and pepper on the outside and in a 425 degree oven for about an hour.

Jack requested Spaghetti and Meatballs so, in spite of our warm weather, I just prepared a batch of Ina Garten's Real Meatballs and Spaghetti for dinner tonight. She uses veal, pork and beef and I think that is the secret to a really wonderful meatball. My kitchen smells divine! http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/real-meatballs-and-spaghetti-recipe/index.html.

Quote of the Week -
“The winds of grace are always blowing; all we need to do is raise our sails.” Anonymous

Six members of our book group (Barbara Lamm and her book group will be there also) are heading out to Steamboat Springs this coming Friday for the Literary Sojourn. This is an annual event for us and I am looking forward to the weekend. I'll have a full report next week but check out the website for a preview of the authors we'll be meeting and hearing. www.literarysojourn.org

Have a great week!

Love,
Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - September 14, 2008

2008-10-20T03:13:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

Hope you all had a good week. The Saturday Morning Walkers were just an intimate group of three yesterday - Andrea, Laila and I walked out at Walden Pond in Gunbarrel (yes, we have a Walden Pond here in Colorado!). It is a such a beautiful spot and the weather was spectacular. Coffee with bagels and lox at the Page 2. Nice way to spend the morning. Yesterday afternoon, I joined in the celebration for my sweet baby Helen's first birthday - Helen is one of the little girls that I take care of. She looked beautiful in her new pink dress and fancy silver party shoes.

Book Report:

Here's a recommendation from Libby - The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff. This book came up as a possible choice at our book group last week. I may choose it for my turn in December. Libby liked it very much.

Praise for The 19th Wife
“This exquisite tour de force explores the dark roots of polygamy and its modern-day fruit in a renegade cult...Ebershoff (The Danish Girl) brilliantly blends a haunting fictional narrative by Ann Eliza Young, the real-life 19th “rebel” wife of Mormon leader Brigham Young, with the equally compelling contemporary narrative of fictional Jordan Scott, a 20-year-old gay man…With the topic of plural marriage and its shattering impact on women and powerless children in today's headlines, this novel is essential reading for anyone seeking understanding of the subject.”
–Publishers Weekly, Starred and “Pick of the Week”

I just started a book by Marisa de los Santos - Belong to Me - it is too soon to recommend it but I am optimistic and will let you know more next week.

Website of the Week: this site was recommended by Andrea and looks pretty cool, especially for those of us who want to keep our brains sharp as we "mature" - www.lumosity.com - check out this review of this "brain training" site from PC Magazine - http://www.pcmag.com/slideshow_viewer/0,1205,l=213934&s=25234&a=213919&po=10,00.asp

Podcast of the Week: this is a particular Diane Rehm show focusing on Sarah Palin and the media - Diane is able to give voice to this issue without all the anger and hysteria that often accompanies political coverage - http://wamu.org/programs/dr/08/09/04.php#21857 - listen to it right from your computer.

Vocabulary Word of the Week: luminous

Main Entry:
lu·mi·nous
Pronunciation:
\ˈlü-mə-nəs\
Function:
adjective
Etymology:
Middle English, from Latin luminosus, from lumin-, lumen
Date:
15th century
1 a: emitting or reflecting usually steady, suffused, or glowing light b: of or relating to light or to luminous flux2: bathed in or exposed to steady light 3: clear , enlightening4: shining , illustrious

Cooking and Dining Report:

We had a very fine book group dinner at Janet's last week and I can share one of the recipes with you - she grilled a marinated flank steak which was so delicious - need that recipe! The one I do have is for Ina Garten's Potato-Fennel Gratin- a decadent side dish which was perfect with the steak - http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/potato-fennel-gratin-recipe/index.html

A wonderful Vegetarian Chili from Jan -
Vegetable and Black Bean Chili

2 tsp olive oil

1 medium eggplant, pealed and cubed

1 cup onion, chopped

1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped

1 medium zucchini, coarsely chopped

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

3 cups crushed canned tomatoes

1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained

¾ cup canned corn, drained

Add the oil to a large non-stick pan and heat over medium heat. Add the eggplant and the onion. Cook and stir about 5 minutes or until the vegetables are just tender. Stir in the pepper, zucchini, chili powder, and cumin. Cook and stir for 4 to 5 minutes more or until the vegetables are tender.

Stir in the tomatoes (with juices), beans and corn. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat. Partially cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until thick. The longer the chili simmers the thicker it will get.

Here are a few recipes from my kitchen this week:

From Giada de Laurentiis, Conghile (small shell pasta) with Clams and Mussels - I like that this includes broccoli as part of the dish - it truly is a one-dish meal and very yummy!

From Epicurious.com, I made Marsala Poached Apricots - this was a part of the appetizer that I contributed to Janet's dinner - I simply combined 3 cups of water, 1 cup of imported sweet Marsala wine, 1/4 cup sugar, a few pieces of lemon peel, brought that to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add 2 cups of dried apricots (use the nice bright orange California or Mediterranean). Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until fruit is just soft but not mushy, stirring frequently, about 25 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer fruit to a bowl. Boil the liquid until syrupy, about 5 minutes and pour syrup over the fruit. (Can be made a couple of days ahead. Cover; chill and bring to room temperature before serving) I drained the apricots and placed on a platter with carmelized walnuts, brie cheese, cambozola cheese, figs, quartered,
and slices of melon, and baguette slices.

From Sal Scognamillo of Patsy's Restaurant in NY, I took his recipe for Chicken Parmigiana and substituted veal - he did this on The Today Show - http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26564102/

From Bon Appetit, Tortellini with Porcini Mushroom Sauce - for those of you who love Fettucine Alfredo or Carbonara, this is a lovely alternative - very simple to make yet elegant enough for company (Rae, you'll love this one!!) - http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/TORTELLINI-WITH-PORCINI-MUSHROOM-SAUCE-243388?mbid=rss_epinr

From The Splendid Table, Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho - try this while you can still get lovely tomatoes!

Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho
From Latin Evolution by Jose Garces (Lake Isle Press, September 25, 2008). Copyright 2008 by Jose Garces. Used with permission of the publisher.

Yields 4 cup

4 large red heirloom tomatoes
2/3 English cucumber, seeded
3 cloves garlic
1/3 cup sherry vinegar
3 tablespoons diced day-old baguette, crust removed
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1. To make gazpacho: Core tomatoes. Dip tomatoes into boiling water for about 15 seconds then shock in ice water. Peel tomatoes.

2. In a blender, combine tomatoes, cucumber, garlic, vinegar, and bread. Puree until smooth. While processing, slowly add olive oil until emulsified. Season with sugar, salt, and pepper. Gazpacho can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.

Quote of the Week from Storypeople.com - There are things you do because they feel right & they may make no sense & they may make no money & it may be the real reason we are here: to love each other & to eat each other's cooking & say it was good.

Have a wonderful week!
Love,
Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - September 8, 2008

2008-10-20T03:10:00.000-07:00

Hi all!

Hope you had a good week. A good turnout of the Saturday Morning Walkers, including Mary, Christie, Jan, Andrea, Laila, Irma and I, had a nice brisk (meaning temperature) walk yesterday up to and around Viele Lake, finishing at our first of the month planning session at Caffe Sole.

Book Report:
Laila is reading How To Meditate by Lawrence Le Shan. Here is a review from SpiritSite.com.

"Lawrence LeShan, a clinical psychologist, has spent over thirty years working with cancer patients to promote healing and well-being. He is also a pioneer in exploring the therapeutic uses of meditation.Dr. LeShan has developed a profoundly new approach to psychotherapy which focuses on assisting an individual (often a cancer patient) to find a source of joy and meaning in his life, rather than focusing on neuroses. The question to ask, says Dr. LeShan, is not "what is wrong with me?" but "what is right within me? What brings me joy and a sense of purpose in my life?"
How to Meditate is one of the simplest, most straightforward books on mediation. Dr. LeShan takes the approach that mediation is not mysterious; nor is one form of meditation ideal for everyone. In his book, Dr. LeShan outlines a variety of meditation techniques, and encourages the reader to bring meditation into his or her life."

I have started and am really enjoying Pete Hamill's memoir, A Drinking Life. Jack finished this a few weeks ago and I included the review then. Just do a search on the blog for Pete Hamill. If you've read and enjoyed Snow in August, Forever, Downtown and North River, you will appreciate learning about Hamill's background growing up and living in New York.

Website of the Week: http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/ - the BBC presents a language site - pretty cool!

Podcast of the Week: http://www.newyorker.com/online/podcasts/campaigntrail - from The New Yorker Magazine, a podcast covering the campaign trail

Vocabulary Word of the Week: securitization - this word came up when Jack and I were listening to the news this morning and the person being interviewed used the word "securitize" - we had a "discussion" about whether or not this was a real word or if he meant to say "secure" - I won't say who was right!
Securitization is a structured finance process, which involves pooling and repackaging of cash-flow producing financial assets into securities that are then sold to investors. The name "securitization" is derived from the fact that the form of financial instruments used to obtain funds from the investors are securities.

All assets can be securitized so long as they are associated with cash flow. Hence, the securities, which are the outcome of securitization processes, are termed asset-backed securities (ABS). From this perspective, securitization could also be defined as a financial processes leading to an emission of ABS.

Securitization often utilizes a special purpose vehicle (SPV), alternatively known as a special purpose entity (SPE) or special purpose company (SPC), in order to reduce the risk of bankruptcy and thereby obtain lower interest rates from potential lenders. A credit derivative is also generally used to change the credit quality of the underlying portfolio so that it will be acceptable to the final investors.

Securitization has evolved from tentative beginnings in the late 1970s to a vital funding source with an estimated total aggregate outstanding of $8.06 trillion (as of the end of 2005, by the Bond Market Association) and new issuance of $3.07 trillion in 2005 in the U.S. markets alone.[citation needed]

Cooking and Dining Report:
Boulder Restaurant Review - Jack and I had dinner last night at Mateo (owned by the same people as Radda). http://www.mateorestaurant.com/ We had been there once before right after it first opened several years ago. We like it then but somehow never got back there. They specialized in Provencal cuisine and the decor is a bit more elegant and upscale than Radda. We had a terrific dinner and the service was outstanding. Their menu seems to change monthly so everything is very seasonal and local.
We shared two appetizers - one was an Artisan Cheese Platter featuring Cambembert, English Stilton, a Chevre and a Delice de Bourgogne Triple Cream (my favorite!) and the other was Grilled Endive with Shaved Parmiggiano Reggiano. I liked that very much.
Jack had a sliced duck breast entree which was very tasty but a bit too rare for Jack - I thought it was just perfect!
I had a Colorado leg of lamb, slow-roasted and thinly sliced, served with tomatoes and potatoes in a Provencale style - a perfect dish for a cool night.
Dessert was over the top! We both had house-made tarts - Jack had a raspberry tart with vanilla bean ice cream and I had a bittersweet chocolate tart with chocolate hazelnut ice cream. The pastry on both was thin, light and flaky. Mine was one of the best desserts I've ever had!
We also tried a wine that was recommended and we enjoyed that very much - it was similar to a Cabernet Sauvigon but less sweet. It was called Chateau Beaumont from the Medoc region.

A couple of recipes from Susan's kitchen this past week:

From Mark Bitten from the New York Times, Grilled Halibut (I used Cod) with Remoulade - http://bitten.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/recipe-of-the-day-grilled-halibut-with-remoulade/ - the cod is a more economical alternative and was very delicious - the sauce was a bit too hot for me - I would cut back on the cayenne just a bit. This is great because you can make the sauce well ahead and then just quickly grill or pan-fry the fish.

From Fine Cooking, Oven Fries - http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/pages/c00225_rec01.asp - a little bit more work than opening the bag of frozen fries (that I usually do!) but well worth it. Next time I'll try it with sweet potatoes.

Quote of the Week: from writer, Anais Nin

"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."

Have a terrific week ahead!
Love,
Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - September 1, 2008

2008-09-03T06:35:00.000-07:00

Happy Labor Day!

Hope you all had a lovely and relaxing holiday weekend. We had quite a turnout on Saturday morning for our walk that Jan led around Twin Lakes in Gunbarrel - Mary, Andrea, Laila, Terri, Gaye, Barb and Me - Chris joined us for coffee at Page Two Cafe. Following that, Gaye and I joined Barb in the Voter Registration Drive being orchestrated by Dickie Lee Hullinghorst as part of her campaign for State Representative.
Barb is working tirelessly as Dickie Lee's campaign manager. This voter registration drive will continue throughout the month - I'm going to do it again next Saturday morning. Anyone care to join the effort?

Book Report:

I just finished The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta - he wrote Little Children (perhaps you saw the movie) - I highly recommend the book. It is eerily timely - do check it out!

From Booklist
As is evident from his previous novels Election (1998) and Little Children (2004), Perotta seems to enjoy putting characters with divergent belief systems together in a bag, as it were, and shaking it up. That is the technique he uses in his latest novel, to satiric effect. Ruth Ramsey, divorced, is the human sexuality teacher at the local high school; she believes in being honest with her students, telling them that some people "enjoy oral sex." She lands in hot water when an evangelical church, offended by her curriculum, forces the school board to include a section on abstinence. Tim Mason is the beloved soccer coach of Ruth's young daughter, Maggie. He is also a reformed stoner/loser and an entrenched member of the church that attacked Ruth. Things get interesting when Tim, in a moment of crisis, leads his team of girls in prayer, and Ruth publicly drags her daughter from the soccer field. Ironically, Ruth and Tim find they have more in common than they thought, and a shaky—at times humorous—interchange begins. Perotta focuses on the small, personal motives behind life's big shake-ups. A finely wrought novel that will be in demand.

Mary suggests Playing for Pizza by John Grisham - this is apparently a light-hearted departure from Grisham's usual legal thrillers.

Review
“Fans of John Grisham live for his legal thrillers, but now and then he serves up something unexpected. That’s exactly what he does, with great success, in Playing for Pizza.” —USA Today
“Enthralling.” —People
“Score another one for Grisham...This is a fish-out-of-water tale that perfectly suits his strengths as a storyteller.” —USA Today
“A light-hearted story of football, food and love.” —Richmond Times-Dispatch
“Football in Italy? Who knew? Grisham means to have a sweet time with this story of a fallen NFL quarterback. And he does.” —Daily News (New York)
“Delightfully comic...a deeply satisfying story.” —The Boston Globe
“Charming...the author's love letter to Italy.” —Publishers Weekly

Terri enjoys and recommends James Patterson's Women Murder Club series.

Gaye just read and enjoyed Mercy by Jody Picoult - she's one of my favorite storytellers.

From Publishers Weekly
What could have been a competent, topical novel about a mercy killing becomes, in Picoult's (following Picture Perfect, 1995) hands, an inspired meditation on love. The setting is Wheelock, Mass., a slightly eccentric town where most of the residents are of Scottish descent, where weddings end in a blood vow, the name MacDonald is "painted on an alarming number of mailboxes" and police chief Cameron MacDonald doubles as clan chief and protector. On a seemingly ordinary day in Wheelock, Jamie MacDonald, a cousin of Cameron's, drives to the police station and announces: "My wife here, Maggie, is dead, and I'm the one who killed her." Cam finds himself saddled with a murder case and a conflict of interest: his cousin has given in to the pleas of his cancer-ravaged wife to kill her, and he's come to the clan chief to confess. But as police chief, Cam must also prosecute. On the same day, Cam's wife, Allie, the local florist, hires Mia, a violet-eyed beauty with a genius for flower arranging. Allie gets involved in Jamie's case, and Cam, who has spent his life in service to his community and his clan, falls in love with Mia and begins an affair that will bring his marriage to the breaking point and change it profoundly. Like Jamie, Allie is the marriage partner who loves more. "It's never fifty-fifty," says Jamie. As Jamie's court case proceeds, Picoult plumbs the emotional core of both marriages. The pace of the trial is slow, but Picoult pays loving attention to her central characters, fashioning a sensitive exploration of the balance of love.

Website of the Week - http://www.silobreaker.com/ - "Silobreaker is an online search service out of the UK for news and current events that delivers meaning and relevance beyond traditional search and aggregation engines. Its relational analysis and explanatory graphics provide users with unparalleled contextual insight into the news stories of the day.'

Podcast of the Week - check out www.itunes.com and search for DNC speeches for a podcast from the DNC with select speeches you may have missed last week.

Vocabulary Word of the Week - aggregation

Pronunciation:
\ˌa-gri-ˈgā-shən\
Function:
noun
Date:
1547
1: a group, body, or mass composed of many distinct parts or individuals
2: the collecting of units or parts into a mass or whole b: the condition of being so collected
— ag·gre·ga·tion·al \-shnəl, -shə-nəl\ adjective

Cooking and Dining Report

Here are a few more recipes from Susan's kitchen:

From Mark Bitten of the New York Times, Grilled Steak with Garlic (Fleica) - this recipe originated in Romania - I used Flank Steak but you could use skirt steak, strip or rib-eye. It is a very simple preparation.
http://bitten.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/20/recipe-of-the-day-grilled-steak-with-garlic-fleica/

From Frog Hollow Farm, Grilled Peaches with Ice Cream - take advantage of luscious local peaches with this simple but elegant dessert.
http://www.froghollow.com/kitchen/peachesR3.cfm

This Plum Torte from The Splendid Table has become an annual treat at this time of the summer when Italian Prune Plums appear - unfortunately, we haven't seen any yet so I improvised and did it with peaches - pretty good! Do let me know if you happen to find them where you shop here in Colorado.
http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/recipes/dessert_plum.html

From RecipeSource by way of Mark Bitten of the New York Times, Low Country Oyster Loaf - wow, this was terrific! One tip, I would let it sit for 10 minutes or so before slicing - I think it would hold together a bit better.
http://www.recipesource.com/main-dishes/seafood/oyster-loaf1.html

Quote of the Week: from a Barack Obama speech on February 5, 2008,
"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek."

Have a great week ahead!

Love,
Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - August 24, 2008

2008-09-03T06:31:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Jack and I got back last night from our visit with Jeff in Anchorage. We had a wonderful visit and it was good to be with Jeff and meet some of his friends. We had some great meals and will report on those below in the Cooking and Dining Report. I missed our Saturday morning walk but it sounds like Christie planned a nice Louisville walk and ended up with breakfast at the Huckleberry Cafe on Main Street.

Book Report: pretty slim this week - I'm reading The Wise Heart by Jack Kornfield. I've mentioned this before, read bits and pieces and am finally making a point of reading it cover to cover. It is a fascinating study of Buddhist psychology that is the perfect follow-up to Eckhard Tolle's A New Earth.

Website of the Week - www.pensonfire.com - an online magazine of short fiction and poetry

Podcast of the Week - http://publicspeaker.quickanddirtytips.com/ - part of the wonderful quick and dirty tips series

Vocabulary Word of the Week - teacherage - we saw one of these in Girdwood, Alaska

teach·er·age
–noun a building serving as a combination school and living quarters, as on certain government reservations and in remote, sparsely settled areas.

Cooking and Dining Report:

Join us on a restaurant tour of Anchorage, Girdwood, and Talkeetna, Alaska:

Wednesday:
Breakfast at the Snow City Cafe in downtown Anchorage - terrific and busy place - great breakfasts - Jeff had Eggs Florentine, Jack had Blueberry Pancakes and I had my usual poached eggs, fruit and toast. www.snowcitycafe.com

Dinner at the Double Musky Inn in Girdwood - we had a wonderful dinner with Jeff's friends, Julia and Jon. Laila had recommended this restaurant and it exceeded our expectations. Girdwood is actually a ski resort town and the Double Musky is the perfect spot after a day of skiing. Of course, I would certainly skip the skiing and just go to dinner. We did ride the gondola to the top of the mountain and the view was breathtaking.
Jeff had crab-stuffed halibut, Jack had steak au poivre and I had a NY strip steak - everything was delicious! http://www.doublemuskyinn.com/framed.html

Thursday:After breakfast at the Downtown Deli near our hotel, we headed out for our road trip to Talkeetna - Gateway to Denali. This is a tiny, rustic little town that inspired the town in the television show, Northern Exposure.

We stopped at the Sheep Creek Lodge for lunch, just about 30 minutes outside of Talkeetna - Jeff had a roast beef sandwich with cream cheese horseradish and cheddar cheese and Jack and shared a great burger and a BLTA - avocado - yum!
We stayed at a fun little place called Main Street Suites http://www.talkeetnasuites.com/and ate dinner at the Wildflower Cafe just below our suite.
Jeff had an amazing Chef Salad which featured huge pieces of crabmeat, Jack had Chicken Alfredo with homemade and very fresh pasta and I had Baked-stuffed Halibut - outstanding!
http://www.talkeetnasuites.com/

Friday:
Before we left Talkeetna, we couldn't miss breakfast at The Roadhouse (another of Laila's recommendations) - fantastic breakfast - Jeff had Biscuits and Gravy, Jack had Sourdough Blueberry Pancakes and I had Scrambled Eggs with homefries and toast from their homemade bread.

Back in Anchorage, we had pizza at the Moose Tooth - in addition to our pizza, we all shared a very good Caesar Salad and tasted some of Jeff's Hungarian Mushroom Soup - really tasty!

Dinner on our last night was quite lovely. We went to Sacks Cafe and Restaurant, specializing in new American eclectic cuisine. Jeff saw several of his friends, a couple who work there and others who were also dining there.
We shared a beautiful appetizer - a platter with baked brie, served with marsala-poached apricots, candied walnuts, melon, apples and sliced baguettes - it was a gorgeous presentation and a really nice combination of flavors. Jack also had Alaska oysters
Jeff had the DUCK BREAST SALAD – pan seared – field greens, grape tomatoes, cambozola cheese, candied almonds, kahlua poached bartlett pears, cider dijon vinaigrette
Jack had the FILET OF BEEF – grilled – luv rub crust – mashed yellow potatoes, roasted portabello mushroom, grilled asparagus, rosemary port reduction, cambozola cheese
I had FRESH ALASKAN HALIBUT – oven roasted – fresh herb lemon crust, artichoke heart & caper relish, orzo pasta & spinach salad, roasted tomato crème, prosciutto wrapped asparagus
Everything was beautifully prepared and presented.

Well, that's our food tour of Anchorage/Girdwood/Talkeetna - if you ever get to Anchorage, be sure to try some of these spots and don't forget, Jeff works at the very popular Glacier Brewhouse - http://www.glacierbrewhouse.com/

Quote of the Week:

Food is so primal, so essential a part of our lives, often the mere sharing of recipes with strangers turns them into good friends. That's why I love this community. ~Jasmine Heiler, about recipezaar.com

Have a great week - enjoy watching the Convention!

Love,
Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - August 18, 2008

2008-09-03T06:26:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

It has been a whirlwind week for us - Jexy and Jacob arrived on Tuesday and are leaving tomorrow. You all know how much I will miss them but the good news is that we will be heading out to visit Jeff in Alaska this Tuesday. Looks like we're in for cool, rainy days - oh well!! Of course, we've just had a couple of rainy days here in Colorado - our Saturday morning walk was rained out but we still had a great turnout for coffee at the Page 2 Cafe in Gunbarrel - Andrea, Laila, Barb, Mary, Cass, Jan, me and Jexy.

Book Report:

Jexy is reading a book she is enjoying - The God of War by Marisa Silver.
From Publishers Weekly
An elegantly observed coming-of-age story steeped in poverty and violence, this novel by the author of No Direction Home offers a poignant and often heartbreaking account of Ares Ramirez. The year is 1978, and 12-year-old Ares has outgrown the cramped trailer in the California desert that he shares with his mother, Laurel, and six-year-old brother, Malcolm. Malcolm has profound developmental disabilities, but Laurel, out of a free-spirited and self-righteous view of motherhood, has only recently (and very reluctantly) allowed Malcolm to get treatment. A horrific childhood accident and encroaching adolescence, meanwhile, fill Ares with a potent and inarticulate anger. In the absence of any outlet for his preoccupation with violence, Ares falls into an uneasy friendship with Kevin, the troubled foster child of Malcolm's new speech therapist. Conflict with Laurel, her on-again-off-again boyfriend and a small community that will not accept Malcolm, drive Ares into Kevin's manipulative sway, and Ares will have to choose between protecting his family or embracing the violence building inside him. The characters are painted with compassion and unflinching honesty, and the climax is pithy and consequential. (Apr.)

Mandy A. listed a book on her Facebook bookshelf page which sounds good to me - More Than It Hurts You by Darin Strauss.

From Publishers Weekly
The third novel from the author of Chang and Eng and The Real McCoy is an often satiric page-turner that tracks a Long Island family crisis. Josh Goldin is a happily married TV airtime salesman with an eight-month-old son. When baby Zack is treated twice for mysterious and life-threatening symptoms, the head of a pediatric ICU, Dr. Darlene Stokes, tells Child Protective Services that she thinks Josh's wife, Dori, suffers from Munchausen syndrome, whereby the afflicted injure their children deliberately to draw attention to themselves. The Goldins' ensuing battle to keep Zack provides grist for public debate about issues ranging from parents' rights to race (Dr. Stokes is black, the Goldins Jewish). Strauss takes delight in skewering a world in which everything (news coverage, legal representation, hospital beds) is for sale, sometimes digressively, always amusingly. The stereotypes are intentionally heavy-handed: Josh's perceptions almost always register through race and class-related fear and disgust. But the heart of the story—the unraveling of Josh's life and the steady erosion of his faith that ignorance can be a virtue and happiness a choice—is riveting.

I started reading Ann Packer's newest novel, Song Without Words and I am disappointed to say that I have put it down and will not finish it - I loved her book, Dive From Clausen's Pier but this one just doesn't measure up for me.

Website of the Week: www.factcheck.org - "We are a nonpartisan, nonprofit, "consumer advocate" for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. We monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases. Our goal is to apply the best practices of both journalism and scholarship, and to increase public knowledge and understanding."

Podcast of the Week: Salon.com radio - http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/?source=rss

Vocabulary Word of the Week - Nonplussed - this was contributed by Barbara Rowland and is accompanied by this opinion column from the Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-daum9-2008aug09,0,4695540.column

Cooking and Dining Report:

Janet made this wonderful corn chowder from Ina Garten on The Food Networkhttp://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/cheddar-corn-chowder-recipe/index.html

Jexy prepared dinner on Friday night and we loved these Calzone Rolls with Sausage, Basil and Tomatoes from Rachael Ray of the Food Networkhttp://www.rachaelray.com/recipe.php?recipe_id=880

We made this Heavenly Hazelnut Pound Cake, also from Rachael Ray - so easy and "heavenly" - how can you miss with Nutella and whipped cream?! And the pound cake is store bought.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/heavenly-hazelnut-pound-cake-recipe/index.html

I decided to try Julia Child's Roast Chicken recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking. My intention was to follow it to the letter but after I defrosted my chicken, I realized that I had had it "butterflied" at the store, so right off the bat, I had to make modifications to Julia's technique. The result was a delicious chicken with a fantastic pan sauce to flavor it but the skin was not as crisp as it should have been. I will try it again with an intact whole chicken.
http://www.recipezaar.com/57199

This recipe for Prosciutto and Cheese Stuffed Lamb Tenderloin from my friend, Giada de Laurentiis was terrific but do note that I actually made it with Pork Tenderloin. Jack is not a lover of lamb. We loved it! I think it would also work well with beef tenderloin but that would certainly be much pricier. The pork is definitely more economical and was moist and flavorful.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/prosciutto-and-cheese-stuffed-lamb-tenderloin-recipe/index.html

Whew - I'm not cooking until we get back from Alaska!

Quote of the Week - from Buddhist nun, Pema Chodron - "The truth you believe and cling to makes you unavailable to hear anything new"

Love,
Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - August 10, 2008

2008-08-10T16:59:00.000-07:00

Saturday Morning Walkers - August 3, 2008

2008-08-10T16:52:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Well, the Saturday Morning Walkers did something wild and crazy this weekend. Instead of walking on Saturday morning, we walked on Sunday morning - whoooeee! Really shook things up! We headed out early this morning in an attempt to beat the heat and headed up a great trail in Shanahan Ridge up to the Mesa Trail and then back down. It was a bit challenging but we made it down and rewarded ourselves with breakfast at the Southside Walnut Cafe - yum! We had quite a turnout this morning - Barb, Cass, Chris, Christie, Mary, me and our special guest, Irma. Jan and Andrea joined us for breakfast. It was so good to be with everyone - it's been a while for me.

Book Report:

Jack just finished Pete Hamill's memoir, A Drinking Life. As I've mentioned before, Hamill is one of our favorite writers (Snow in August, Forever, Downtown and others). Jack loved the book and I will get to it one of these days.

From Publishers Weekly
Hamill's autobiography entails his long odyssey to sobriety. This is not a jeremiad condemning drink, however, but a thoughtful, funny, street-smart reflection on its consequences. To understand Hamill ( Loving Women ), one must know his immigrant parents: Anne, gentle and fair; Billy, one-legged and alcoholic. The first offspring of this union--Republicans in Belfast, Democrats in Brooklyn--Hamill has a special gift for relating the events of his childhood. He recreates a time extinct, a Brooklyn of trolley cars, Dodgers, pails of beer and pals like No Toes Nocera. He recalls such adventures as the Dodgers' 1941 pennant and viewing the liner Normandie lying on its side in the Hudson River. We partake in the glory of V-J day and learn what life in Hamill's neighborhood was centered on: "Part of being a man was to drink." Puberty hits him and booze helps him to overcome his sexual shyness. But Hamill's childhood ended early. After dropping out of high school he lived on his own, working at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and drinking with his workmates. Wanting more, he studied art, soon meeting a nude model named Laura who was a lot different from the neighborhood girls, those "noble defenders of the holy hymen." And escape was always on Hamill's mind. First it was the Navy, then Mexico, but it was always the same--drinking nights which today he can't remember. There were fist-fights and jail time in Mexico and he learned that "drinking could be a huge fuck you to Authority." Back home with a job at the New York Post , he mastered his trade at the Page One bar every morning, drinking with other reporters. Much time was spent in saloons away from his wife and two daughters and he remembers the taunts of his childhood, "Your old man's an Irish drunk!" Then one New Year's Eve 20 years ago he noticed all the drunkenness and had his last vodka. When asked why, he said, "I have no talent for it." It may be the only talent Hamill lacks.

Cass read and loved Winter in Lisbon by Antonio Munoz Molina - she and her Spanish speaking book group read it in Spanish but it is available in English.

Had a bit of trouble finding a review but here is an excerpt of an article about the literature of democratic Spain

"El Invierno en Lisboa (1987, Winter in Lisbon) is Munoz Molina's second novel. The book's action takes place in two cities, San Sebastian and Lisbon. The narrator, a self-effacing voyeur following the events in the life of a young jazz musician, attempts to reconstruct in a halting monologue the strange existence of this antihero tortured by two unrelenting passions: his music and his love for a mysterious woman. The novel foregrounds issues of time and memory to undemine a model of simplistic coherence created by the narrative sequence. For this novel, Munoz Molina was awarded the 1987 Critics' Prize."

Jan has a couple of audiobook recommendations and a couple of DVD's to recommend:

The Audio Books are:

The Twelfth Card is a murder mystery by Jeffrey Deaver. This is part of series featuring police detective Lincoln Rhyme.

From Publishers Weekly
The popularity of Deaver's novels about quadriplegic police detective Lincoln Rhyme and his legwoman Amelia Sachs depends mightily on their personal stories (i.e., their romantic relationship, their struggles with depression and physical impairments) and the ingeniously twisted crimes they solve. Both elements have been served better in the past. While the plot is properly perplexing (why is a 16-year-old Harlem high schooler being stalked by a ruthless killer?), fans will be baffled by Deaver's decision to move series supporting player NYPD lieutenant Lon Sellitto closer to center stage, thus significantly limited Rhyme's presence in the story. Boutsikaris, an accomplished theater and film actor, and one of the better audio performers, provides a crisp narrative that moves the story quickly enough to build and maintain a fair amount of suspense, even through several lengthy plot recaps. He exhibits both versatility and imagination in finding the right voice for most of the characters, from the impatient, almost fussy Rhyme to the gruff and emotionally conflicted Sellitto.

We Need to Talk About Kevin is a novel by Lionel Shriver.

From Publishers Weekly
A number of fictional attempts have been made to portray what might lead a teenager to kill a number of schoolmates or teachers, Columbine style, but Shriver's is the most triumphantly accomplished by far. A gifted journalist as well as the author of seven novels, she brings to her story a keen understanding of the intricacies of marital and parental relationships as well as a narrative pace that is both compelling and thoughtful. Eva Khatchadourian is a smart, skeptical New Yorker whose impulsive marriage to Franklin, a much more conventional person, bears fruit, to her surprise and confessed disquiet, in baby Kevin. From the start Eva is ambivalent about him, never sure if she really wanted a child, and he is balefully hostile toward her; only good-old-boy Franklin, hoping for the best, manages to overlook his son's faults as he grows older, a largely silent, cynical, often malevolent child. The later birth of a sister who is his opposite in every way, deeply affectionate and fragile, does nothing to help, and Eva always suspects his role in an accident that befalls little Celia. The narrative, which leads with quickening and horrifying inevitability to the moment when Kevin massacres seven of his schoolmates and a teacher at his upstate New York high school, is told as a series of letters from Eva to an apparently estranged Franklin, after Kevin has been put in a prison for juvenile offenders. This seems a gimmicky way to tell the story, but is in fact surprisingly effective in its picture of an affectionate couple who are poles apart, and enables Shriver to pull off a huge and crushing shock far into her tale. It's a harrowing, psychologically astute, sometimes even darkly humorous novel, with a clear-eyed, hard-won ending and a tough-minded sense of the difficult, often painful human enterprise.

The DVD's are:

Rendition - very timely!

Amazon.com
Roger Ebert called it "perfect," and certainly the timing couldn't have been much better: Rendition was released just as the U.S. was debating anew the issue of "extraordinary rendition," a policy (begun under the Clinton administration, accelerated after September 11, 2001) of handing over suspected terrorists to countries that use torture as an interrogation tool. Alas, the movie only rarely fills in the outlines of a prototypical "issue movie," the kind of thing peopled by cardboard characters tracing the patterns of an important, indeed urgent, subject. The plot kicks into gear when an Egyptian-born man (Omar Metwally) is sent to an unnamed North African country where torture is practiced, with the CIA in approval. The film takes a Crash dive through how this affects various people: his pregnant American wife (Reese Witherspoon), the reluctant CIA agent (Jake Gyllenhaal) on the scene, a severe interrogator (Yigal Naor), all the way up to a U.S. terrorism honcho (Meryl Streep) willing to turn a blind eye to the unpleasantness if it stops a terrorist attack. Things spark briefly when Witherspoon enlists an old beau (Peter Sarsgaard) to plead her case with his boss, a U.S. Senator (Alan Arkin), but for the most part director Gavin Hood (Totsi) can't find a way to color in these line drawings, despite the formidable actors doing spirited work. The issue is fully and lucidly explained, but the movie doesn't come alive

Crash

Amazon.com
Movie studios, by and large, avoid controversial subjects like race the way you might avoid a hive of angry bees. So it's remarkable that Crash even got made; that it's a rich, intelligent, and moving exploration of the interlocking lives of a dozen Los Angeles residents--black, white, latino, Asian, and Persian--is downright amazing. A politically nervous district attorney (Brendan Fraser) and his high-strung wife (Sandra Bullock, biting into a welcome change of pace from Miss Congeniality) get car-jacked by an oddly sociological pair of young black men (Larenz Tate and Chris "Ludacris" Bridges); a rich black T.V. director (Terrence Howard) and his wife (Thandie Newton) get pulled over by a white racist cop (Matt Dillon) and his reluctant partner (Ryan Phillipe); a detective (Don Cheadle) and his Latina partner and lover (Jennifer Esposito) investigate a white cop who shot a black cop--these are only three of the interlocking stories that reach up and down class lines. Writer/director Paul Haggis (who wrote the screenplay for Million Dollar Baby) spins every character in unpredictable directions, refusing to let anyone sink into a stereotype. The cast--ranging from the famous names above to lesser-known but just as capable actors like Michael Pena (Buffalo Soldiers) and Loretta Devine (Woman Thou Art Loosed)--meets the strong script head-on, delivering galvanizing performances in short vignettes, brief glimpses that build with gut-wrenching force. This sort of multi-character mosaic is hard to pull off; Crash rivals such classics as Nashville and Short Cuts. A knockout

Website/Blog of the Week: George Peter's and Melanie Walker's blog, featuring a page about their work on the Grillo Center Meander and Meet Labyrinth - check out their other entries about the projects they're involved with. http://airworksstudio.blogspot.com/2008/04/meander-meet-labyrinth.html

Podcast of the Week: Meet the Press - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8132577/

Vocabulary Word of the Week - Gallimarfry

A hotchpotch, jumble or confused medley.

This word has been around since the sixteenth century, is still in use, but isn’t particularly common today. It’s one of those terms sometimes trotted out to give a literary feel to one’s writing, or spoken in a facetious tone for a quick laugh. Its origin is uncertain, though it could have come from the French galimafree, which might have referred to a kind of sauce or stew. Support for this comes from its earliest sense in English of a ragout or hash, to which the current meaning is obviously a figurative reference. “So now,” a writer lamented in 1579, “they have made our English tongue a gallimaufry, or hodgepodge of all other speeches”.

Cooking and Dining Report: I've got several really good recipes to share!

From Epicurious.com, Bacon Wrapped Cod - really a lovely preparation - http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/BACON-WRAPPED-COD-104533

From Epicurious.com, Heirloom Tomato and Burrata Cheese Salad - burrata cheese is hard to find so use a really good quality fresh mozzarella - this is a real splurge of a salad but well worth it. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/HEIRLOOM-TOMATO-AND-BURRATA-CHEESE-SALAD-235861

From Clydes Restaurant (one of our favorite places back in Maryland), their famous crab cakes - http://www.clydes.com/main/Food_and_Wine_Pop.cfm?Section=Recipe_Crab_Cakes - they definitely rival my old stand-by Camden Yard Crab Cakes.

I served these with Michael Chiarello's (The Food Network) Shaved Fennel Salad - excellent alternative to traditional coleslaw and a perfect accompaniment to the crab cakes - for 4 servings, just take two good size fennel bulbs, slice them very thin - it really helps to have a mandoline for this - combine with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, 1 tablespoon good quality extra-virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat leaf parsley, kosher or gray salt and pepper to taste.

A new shop to tell you about - The Savory Spice Shop just opened recently on Broadway between Spruce and Pearl on the west side of the street. I was very impressed with the amazing array of spices and seasonings. Do check it out! http://www.savoryspiceshop.com/whatsnew.html

Quote of the Week: from Eckhard Tolle's Inner Stillness -

"When you lose touch with inner stillness, you lose touch with yourself. When you lose touch with yourself, you lose yourself in the world"

If you've missed any posts, don't forget you can always go to my blogsite at http://cookinandbookin.blogspot.com/ I'm a bit behind in updating recent posts but will work on that this week.

Have a wonderful week!

Love,
Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - July 20, 2008

2008-08-10T16:47:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

I missed yesterday's walk but Cass, Barb, Mary and Christie walked out near Christie's house in Louisville - they met up with Jan at Dragonfly Cafe for coffee. Sorry I missed being with you but Jack and I went to a family gathering out in Woodland Park, CO, just east of Colorado Springs.

Book Report:

I am on the last pages of a book that I am just loving. It is a written and photographic journey into Jewish Cuba called An Island Called Home: Returning to Jewish Cuba by Ruth Behar and Humberto Mayol. Behar was actually born in Cuba herself and with her family left for the United States shortly after Castro came into power in 1959. It is a fascinating look at how the Jewish culture has survived in Cuba under very difficult circumstances. Behar is actually an anthropologist who has focused her study on Jews in Cuba but this is a very personal story for her. It is quite a beautiful book with black and photography that expresses the emotions of the people she interviews throughout the book

From Publishers Weekly
A professor at the University of Michigan, Behar seeks a better understanding of her roots and of the Jewish experience in her native Cuba. Traversing the island, Behar becomes a confidante to myriad Jewish strangers. Through one-on-one interviews and black-and-white images taken by her photographer, Humberto Mayol, she uncovers the diasporic thread that connects Cuban Jews. Familial stories of wandering beginning in the 1920s tell of displaced Polish and German Jews—escapees from anti-Semitism and Auschwitz—opening mom-and-pop shops in La Habana Vieja, becoming peddlers, replacing Yiddish with Spanish and settling into Latino life only to be uprooted within decades. An estimated 16,500 Jews lived in Cuba in the late 1950s, when a mass exodus to Miami and New York took place—a reaction to Castro's budding communist revolution. This diligent recounting and pictorial collage of interviews with adolescents, the aging, the impoverished and the political by Behar preserves in memory the people and places that make up Cuba's Jewish story.

Website of the Week: http://www.globalgiving.com/index.html

Podcast of the Week: http://www.c-span.org/podcast/ - C-span Podcasts

Vocabulary Word of the Week: acculturation

ac·cul·tur·a·tion [uh-kuhl-chuh-rey-shuhn]
1. the process of adopting the cultural traits or social patterns of another group.
2. the result of this process.

Cooking and Dining Report:

As promised, I tried out a few recipes this week and repeated a favorite dessert recipe that Jack requested:

From Gourmet Magazine, Pasta Puttanesca - http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/PASTA-PUTTANESCA-242590 - this a spicy and hearty dish that is a favorite of ours.

Also from Gourmet Magazine, Porterhouse Steak with Pan-Seared Cherry Tomatoes - http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/PORTERHOUSE-STEAK-WITH-PAN-SEARED-CHERRY-TOMATOES-242859 - really beautiful presentation and absolutely delicious!

From Bon Appetit, Roasted Cod on Large Garlic Croutons - http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/ROASTED-COD-ON-LARGE-GARLIC-CROUTONS-242490 - kind of a seafood bruschetta but definitely a main course.

Also from Bon Appetit, Lemon-Almond Buttermilk Loaf with Balsamic Strawberries - great for a group and a wonderful blend of flavors - I would say that the lemon glaze on the top is optional.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/LEMON-ALMOND-BUTTERMILK-LOAF-WITH-BALSAMIC-STRAWBERRIES-101367

Quote of the Week: from Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh, "Be Yourself. Life is precious as it is. All the elements for your happiness are already here. There is no need to run, strive, search, or struggle. Just Be."
That's it for now - have a great week - Jack and I are off for a weekend getaway to Steamboat this Friday!

Love,
Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - July 13, 2008

2008-08-10T16:43:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

We had a lovely Saturday morning walk - Barb, Cass and I walked around Wonderland Lake - we even ran into Janet, Dan and Peaches (their dog!). Christie and Chris joined us for breakfast at Lucky's Cafe.

Book Report:

Cass is reading a memoir that I read several years ago - Esmeralda Santiago's When I Was Puerto Rican

Washington Post Book World
"Santiago is a welcome new voice, full of passion and authority."

Review for ISBN 0306814528
"Stylistically fluid and finely detailed...cinematically recalls her past and her island culture." Los Angeles Times)

Product Description

Esmeralda Santiago's story begins in rural Puerto Rico, where her childhood was full of both tenderness and domestic strife, tropical sounds and sights as well as poverty. Growing up, she learned the proper way to eat a guava, the sound of tree frogs in the mango groves at night, the taste of the delectable sausage called morcilla, and the formula for ushering a dead baby's soul to heaven. As she enters school we see the clash, both hilarious and fierce, of Puerto Rican and Yankee culture. When her mother, Mami, a force of nature, takes off to New York with her seven, soon to be eleven children, Esmeralda, the oldest, must learn new rules, a new language, and eventually take on a new identity. In this first volume of her much-praised, bestselling trilogy, Santiago brilliantly recreates the idyllic landscape and tumultuous family life of her earliest years and her tremendous journey from the barrio to Brooklyn, from translating for her mother at the welfare office to high honors at Harvard.

About the Author

Esmeralda Santiago is the author of two highly acclaimed memoirs, The Turkish Lover and Almost a Woman, which was made into a film for PBS's Masterpiece Theatre. She has also written a novel, America's Dream, and has co-edited two anthologies of Latino literature. She lives in Westchester County, New York.

Cass also recently read a book that she highly recommends - The Shadow of Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

From Publishers Weekly
Ruiz Zafón's novel, a bestseller in his native Spain, takes the satanic touches from Angel Heart and stirs them into a bookish intrigue à la Foucault's Pendulum. The time is the 1950s; the place, Barcelona. Daniel Sempere, the son of a widowed bookstore owner, is 10 when he discovers a novel, The Shadow of the Wind, by Julián Carax. The novel is rare, the author obscure, and rumors tell of a horribly disfigured man who has been burning every copy he can find of Carax's novels. The man calls himself Laín Coubert-the name of the devil in one of Carax's novels. As he grows up, Daniel's fascination with the mysterious Carax links him to a blind femme fatale with a "porcelain gaze," Clara Barceló; another fan, a leftist jack-of-all-trades, Fermín Romero de Torres; his best friend's sister, the delectable Beatriz Aguilar; and, as he begins investigating the life and death of Carax, a cast of characters with secrets to hide. Officially, Carax's dead body was dumped in an alley in 1936. But discrepancies in this story surface. Meanwhile, Daniel and Fermín are being harried by a sadistic policeman, Carax's childhood friend. As Daniel's quest continues, frightening parallels between his own life and Carax's begin to emerge. Ruiz Zafón strives for a literary tone, and no scene goes by without its complement of florid, cute and inexact similes and metaphors (snow is "God's dandruff"; servants obey orders with "the efficiency and submissiveness of a body of well-trained insects"). Yet the colorful cast of characters, the gothic turns and the straining for effect only give the book the feel of para-literature or the Hollywood version of a great 19th-century novel.

For those of you don't know, Cass is a high school Spanish teacher at Fairview High here in Boulder - she has started a Spanish language book group that meets at the Boulder Public Library and these are just two of the books they have read.

I finished our book group selection for this month - Higher Authority by local author and former psychologist, Steven White. I'm not usually a mystery reader but this makes for a good summer book. It is pretty revealing about what Mormon life is like in Utah.

From Library Journal
Attorney Lauren Crowder recommends a Salt Lake City lawyer for her younger sister, who has accused her former boss, an impeccably Mormon woman with high political and church connections, of sexual harassment. Crowder assists a private investigator in gathering information on the potentially explosive case, but murder intervenes: someone kills the P.I. and the former boss. Crowder then calls upon boyfriend Alan Gregory (Private Practices, Viking, 1993) to outmaneuver the ubiquitous, corrupt tentacles of the Mormon church. Much background research supports fine prose, subtle characterization, and intricate plotting. A good selection.

Chris is reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. This personal account of Kingsolver's family's effort at eating home-grown and local food was also recommended to me a while ago by Karen.

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. [Signature]Reviewed by Nina PlanckMichael Pollan is the crack investigator and graceful narrator of the ecology of local food and the toxic logic of industrial agriculture. Now he has a peer. Novelist Kingsolver recounts a year spent eating home-grown food and, if not that, local. Accomplished gardeners, the Kingsolver clan grow a large garden in southern Appalachia and spend summers "putting food by," as the classic kitchen title goes. They make pickles, chutney and mozzarella; they jar tomatoes, braid garlic and stuff turkey sausage. Nine-year-old Lily runs a heritage poultry business, selling eggs and meat. What they don't raise (lamb, beef, apples) comes from local farms. Come winter, they feast on root crops and canned goods, menus slouching toward asparagus. Along the way, the Kingsolver family, having given up industrial meat years before, abandons its vegetarian ways and discovers the pleasures of conscientious carnivory.This field—local food and sustainable agriculture—is crowded with books in increasingly predictable flavors: the earnest manual, diary of an epicure, the environmental battle cry, the accidental gardener. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is all of these, and much smarter. Kingsolver takes the genre to a new literary level; a well-paced narrative and the apparent ease of the beautiful prose makes the pages fly. Her tale is both classy and disarming, substantive and entertaining, earnest and funny. Kingsolver is a moralist ("the conspicuous consumption of limited resources has yet to be accepted widely as a spiritual error, or even bad manners"), but more often wry than pious. Another hazard of the genre is snobbery. You won't find it here. Seldom do paeans to heirloom tomatoes (which I grew up selling at farmers' markets) include equal respect for outstanding modern hybrids like Early Girl.Kingsolver has the ear of a journalist and the accuracy of a naturalist. She makes short, neat work of complex topics: what's risky about the vegan diet, why animals belong on ecologically sound farms, why bitterness in lettuce is good. Kingsolver's clue to help greenhorns remember what's in season is the best I've seen. You trace the harvest by botanical development, from buds to fruits to roots. Kingsolver is not the first to note our national "eating disorder" and the injuries industrial agriculture wreaks, yet this practical vision of how we might eat instead is as fresh as just-picked sweet corn. The narrative is peppered with useful sidebars on industrial agriculture and ecology (by husband Steven Hopp) and recipes (by daughter Camille), as if to show that local food—in the growing, buying, cooking, eating and the telling—demands teamwork. (May)Nina Planck is the author of Real Food: What to Eat and Why (Bloomsbury USA, 2006).

Oh, I just thought about another book that Libby had with her when she was here last week - Eat This, Not That! by David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding. It is a pretty revealing nutrtional look at what we're actually consuming when we go out to fast food and popular chain restaurants.

Product Description

Eat what you want, when you want--and watch the pounds disappear!
Americans spend more than $400 billion a year eating out, and behind each burger, turkey sandwich, and ice cream sundae is a simple decision that could help you control your weight—and your life. The problem is, restaurant chains and food producers aren't interested in helping you make healthy choices. In fact, they invest $30 billion a year on advertising, much of it aimed at confusing eaters and disguising the fat and calorie counts of their products.

All of that has changed with EAT THIS, NOT THAT!. This book puts the entire food industry under the spotlight, and arms you with the savvy tricks and insider information it takes to eat well no matter where you are. With EAT THIS, NOT THAT! you're the expert in every eating situation, from the frozen food aisle to your favorite fast food joint to your local sports bar. You control your food universe—and lose the pounds you want--because, unlike every other customer, you'll know the smart choices to make—instantly!

EAT THIS, NOT THAT! is jam-packed with secrets the restaurant industry doesn't want you to know. For example:
• Burger King doesn't want you to know that a BK Big Fish® Sandwich and fries have a whopping 1000 calories—nearly half your daily caloric intake! (Fish is usually healthy, but not this kind. Find out why with this book.)
• Pizza Hut doesn't want you to know that a standard pizza in Italy contains 500 to 800 calories, but the same meal at Pizza Hut can top 2,100 calories! (You'd need to ride a stationary bike for more than three hours to burn off this mistake. Instead, eat all the pizza you want by making smart choices. EAT THIS, NOT THAT! shows you how.)
• Macaroni Grill doesn't want you to know that a single serving of their Grilled Teriyaki Salmon has more than three times your daily allowance of sodium! (Cut your risk of high blood pressure by making smart choices at the same restaurant. You'll find them inside.)

If only you knew the industry secrets, you could eat at any of your favorite restaurants—or chow down on everything from the company vending machine to your kids’ Halloween buckets—and know that every decision you made was smart, healthy, and the best possible choice for you. For example, did you know:
• At McDonald’s, an Egg McMuffin® is actually a healthy choice, with just 300 calories. (The Hotcakes pack more than double that amount!)
• At Krispy Kreme, all you need to do is order the Very Berry Chiller instead of the Mocha Dream Chiller, and you'll save 500 calories! (Do that once a week and you'll drop more than 7 pounds this year—without trying!)
• At Chipotle, you can cut 570 calories out of your Chicken Burrito just by ordering it as a bowl (without the tortilla) and asking them to hold the rice. (Same great taste, but with 94 fewer carb grams!)
• Choosing a cinnamon roll at Au Bon Pain over Cinnabon will save you 463 calories and 20 grams of fat!
• In the freezer section of your local supermarket, a turkey pot pie from Swanson’s has 610 fewer calories than a turkey pot pie from Pepperidge Farms.
• In the produce aisle, you'll get twice the vitamin C—and nine times as much vitamin A—simply by picking red bell peppers over green ones. (Who said eating healthy was difficult?)

And that’s why EAT THIS, NOT THAT! is going to change everything. It’s time to level the playing field. We're all tired of sneaky calories adding to our waistlines, and having to starve ourselves or spend hours on the treadmill trying to burn off the damage. Now—for the first time—you're in charge. With this simple illustrated guide to thousands of foods--along with the nutrition secrets that lead to fast and permanent weight loss--you'll make the smartest choice every time!

Website of the Week: http://www.bookbrowse.com/bookclubs/index.cfm?fuseaction=diy_guides - tips on how to lead discussions for book groups

Podcast of the Week: http://www2.oprah.com/spiritself/oss/guest/oss_guest_jkabatzinn.jhtml - Oprah's interview with one of my favorite teachers, Jon Kabat Zinn on mindfulness and meditation.

Vocabulary Word of the Week - Epicureep·i·cure (p-kyr)
n.
1. A person with refined taste, especially in food and wine.
2. A person devoted to sensuous pleasure and luxurious living. See Usage Note at gourmet.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Middle English, an Epicurean, from Medieval Latin epicrus, from Latin Epicrus, Epicurus, from Greek Epikouros

Cooking and Dining Report:

Nothing much to report this week! Jack was away for several days, so there was some eating out and much grazing!

I had a lovely dinner out with Sondra on Tuesday night at The Cork - they had a fantastic Ravioli with Swiss Chard.
I had another lovely dinner out with Janet at Dolans - we both had the Panko Breaded Fish (can't remember what it was) - it was just ok (not too memorable) but the company was great!

Quote of the Week - this is something that Eckhard Tolle says in A New Earth - not sure it was originally said by someone else but it is worth sharing:
"Worrying pretends to be necessary but serves no useful purpose"
Have a great week ahead - I've got some interesting recipes to try this week so I'll share them with you next time.

Love,
Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - July 6, 2008

2008-08-10T16:37:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

Hope you've all had a lovely and relaxing holiday weekend. We had a great visit with Libby, David and our lovely new granddaughter-to-be! A highlight for me was a ride with David on the motorcycle that he rented for the weekend - I loved it! Of course, we had lots of good cooking - I'll tell you about that later.

Book Report:

Libby finished a good "beach" read while she was here - a bit of "chick lit" called Something Borrowed by Emily Griffin

From Publishers Weekly
An unexpected love affair threatens a long-lived friendship in this soap opera–like debut from Atlanta ex-lawyer Giffin. Since elementary school, Rachel and Darcy have been best friends, with Darcy always outshining Rachel. While single Rachel is the self-confessed good girl, an attorney trapped at a suffocating New York law firm, Darcy is the complete opposite, a stereotypical outgoing publicist, planning a wedding with the handsome Dex. After Rachel's 30th birthday party, she knocks back one drink too many and winds up in bed with Dex. Instead of feeling guilty about sleeping with her best friend's fiancé, Rachel realizes that Dex is the only man she's really loved, and that she's always resented manipulative Darcy. Rachel and Dex spend a few weekends in the city together "working" while Darcy's off with friends at a Hamptons beach share, but finally Rachel realizes she'll have to give Dex an ultimatum. The flip job Giffin pulls off—here it's the cheaters who're sympathetic (more or less)—gives Dex and Rachel's otherwise ordinary affair extra edge. Rachel would be a more appealing heroine if she were less whiny about her job and her romantic prospects, and rambling dialogue slows the story's pace, but this is an enjoyable beach read—one that'll make readers cast a suspicious eye on best friends and boyfriends who seem to get along just a little too well.

I finished a wonderful book of historical fiction - A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam - this is the story of a family caught up in the Bangladesh War for Independence early in the 70's. It is a piece of history that I'm embarrassed to say I didn't know much about. I enjoyed seeing and hearing Anam speak at this past Tattered Cover "Writers Respond to Readers" event.

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. The experiences of a woman drawn into the 1971 Bangladesh war for independence illuminate the conflict's wider resonances in Anam's impressive debut, the first installment in a proposed trilogy. Rehana Haque is a widow and university student in Dhaka with two children, 17-year-old daughter Maya and 19-year-old son Soheil. As she follows the daily patterns of domesticity—cooking, visiting the cemetery, marking religious holidays—she is only dimly aware of the growing political unrest until Pakistani tanks arrive and the fighting begins. Suddenly, Rehana's family is in peril and her children become involved in the rebellion. The elegantly understated restraint with which Anam recounts ensuing events gives credibility to Rehana's evolution from a devoted mother to a woman who allows her son's guerrilla comrades to bury guns in her backyard and who shelters a Bengali army major after he is wounded. The reader takes the emotional journey from atmospheric scenes of the marketplace to the mayhem of invasion, the ruin of the city, evidence of the rape and torture of Hindus and Bengali nationalists, and the stench and squalor of a refugee camp. Rehana's metamorphosis encapsulates her country's tragedy and makes for an immersive, wrenching narrative. (Jan.)

Website of the Week: http://crumblycookie.wordpress.com/

Podcast of the Week: news and politics from http://www.thetakeaway.org/

Vocabulary Word of the Week: Chick lit

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Chick lit" is a term used to denote genre fiction written for and marketed to young women, especially single, working women in their twenties and thirties. The genre's creation was spurred on, if not exactly created, by Sue Townsend's Adrian Mole diaries which inspired Adele Lang's Confessions of a Sociopathic Social Climber: The Katya Livingston Chronicles in the mid-1990s.[citation needed] Another strong early influence can be seen in the books by M. C. Beaton about Agatha Raisin and Hamish Macbeth. The style can also be seen to be somewhat influenced by female teen angst movies like Sixteen Candles and Clueless. Later with the appearance of Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones's Diary and similar works; the genre continued to sell well in the 2000s, with chick lit titles topping bestseller lists and the creation of imprints devoted entirely to chick lit.

The genre

Chick lit features hip, stylish female protagonists (usually in their twenties and thirties and in urban settings) and follows their love lives and struggles for professional success (often in the publishing, advertising, public relations or fashion industry). The books usually feature an airy, irreverent tone and frank sexual themes. The genre spawned Candace Bushnell's Sex and the City and its accompanying television series. Popular Chick lit novelists include Ireland's Marian Keyes, Cecelia Ahern, and Sophie Kinsella, author of the Shopaholic series. Variations have developed to appeal to specific audiences, such as "Chica Lit," aimed at English-dominant, middle-class American Latinas, the top-seller being novelist and film writer/producer Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez; Christian Chick Lit, Matron Lit (aka Hen Lit) for middle-aged women, Young Adult Chick Lit (also Teen Lit).

Origins of the term
"Chick" is an American slang term for young woman and "Lit" is short for "literature".

The term was introduced by Cris Mazza and Jeffrey DeShell as an ironic title for their edited anthology Chick Lit: Postfeminist Fiction, published in 1995. The genre was defined as a type of post-feminist or second-wave feminism that went beyond female-as-victim to include fiction that covered the breadth of female experiences, including love, courtship and gender. The collection emphasized experimental work, including violent, perverse and sexual themes. James Wolcott's 1996 article in The New Yorker "Hear Me Purr" co-opted the term "chick lit" to proscribe what he called the trend of "girlishness" evident in the writing of female newspaper columnists at that time. Works such as Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones's Diary and Candace Bushnell's Sex and the City are examples of such work that helped establish contemporary connotations of the term. The success of Bridget Jones and Sex and the City in book form established chick lit as an important trend in publishing. The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank[1] is regarded as one of the first chick lit works to originate as a novel (actually a collection of stories), though the term "chick lit" was in common use at the time of its publication (1999).

Publishers continue to push the sub-genre because of its viability as a sales tactic. Various other terms have been coined as variant in attempts to attach themselves to the perecieved marketability of the work.

Some critics have noted a male equivalent in authors like Ben Elton, Mike Gayle, Paul Howard and Nick Hornby, referred to as "lad lit" and "dick lit".

Cooking and Dining Report:

A Summer Weekend Menu

Libby and David arrived on Thursday night - I had prepared Sausage and Peppers from The Two Meatballs Cookbook - this was great to have simmering on the stove and ready for them when they got to the house. I had some nice crusty Ciabatta rolls and a light salad. This recipe can be found in an earlier post from this blog - http://cookinandbookin.blogspot.com/search?q=sausage+and+peppers.

Friday was a dining out day - lunch in Littleton with Nana Mae and dinner at Radda here in Boulder - surprisingly not crowded and noisy.

Saturday breakfast - Libby had requested a breakfast casserole - one of her favorites - I found a great recipe for an updated version of breakfast casserole - it is Breakfast Strata with Sausage, Mushrooms and Monterey Jack from Cooks Illustrated. I did make a couple of modifications - I used bulk Italian sausage instead of breakfast sausage (more flavorful) and crimini mushrooms instead of white button mushrooms.
http://crumblycookie.wordpress.com/2008/04/17/breakfast-strata-with-sausage-mushrooms-and-monterey-jack

Saturday lunch - featured two terrific options:

Cooked shrimp (purchased cooked) tossed with pesto (store-bought) - a great combination and couldn't be easier - this was a suggestion from Mark Bittman from the New York Times

Apricot and Chicken Bruschetta from Giada de Laurentiis - http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_159123,00.html - this is a great lunch using large slices of Ciabatta or even a light dinner.

Saturday dinner - this is a repeat of a recipe that we enjoyed several weeks ago. We served this with roasted green beans and a salad of chopped fresh tomatoes tossed with store-bought Kalamata olive tapenade. A perfect summer meal!
Flank Steak with Crispy Polenta and Roasted Shallot Vinaigrette from Epicurious.com - http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/FLANK-STEAK-WITH-CRISPY-POLENTA-AND-ROASTED-SHALLOT-VINAIGRETTE-101713
For dessert we treated ourselves to ice cream at the Glacier Ice Cream shop on Baseline Road - yum!

Before I close - Quote of the Day - a favorite of Rae's - "If nothing changes, nothing changes" - author unknown.If you have a favorite quote, do share it with us.

Have a wonderful week!

Love,
Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - June 29, 2008

2008-08-10T16:31:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

It has been a delightful weekend. I missed our Saturday morning walk that Jan led out in Niwot, but Rae was here for a short but sweet visit. She attempted to get here on Thursday, flying standby from Baltimore, but didn't actually get on a flight until Friday morning. So, while I was at work, Barb and Jan (thank you both so much!) picked her up at the airport and brought her home to Boulder. The main purpose of her visit was to go with me to an all-day Jack Kornfield workshop on Saturday. Jack Kornfield is a Buddhist meditation teacher and psychologist who we have both followed for many years. The day was amazing and so special to share with each other.

I'd like to start a new "department" on the blog - Quotations/Poetry/Inspirational Words of the Week - I'll probably add this to the end of future posts but to start things off, I will share a quote here from Jack Kornfield:
"When we get too caught up in the busyness of the world we lose connection with one another- and ourselves." - Jack Kornfield

A special request - Jexy's friend Sara is going to be bringing her little girl, Robin, home from the hospital in a couple of weeks. 3 year-old Robin is being treated for childhood leukemia at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Her progress has been good and they are looking forward to getting her back home. Sara is looking for help with planning meals for Robin that are actually high in protein and calorie-packed. They have been vegetarians for a very long time so this will be a major adjustment. She would like to have recipes, preferably using chicken, turkey or fish, that are easy to prepare and kid-friendly - please no red meat! She'd also like ideas for high-protein vegetarian dishes. If you have any ideas or suggestions, go ahead and send them to me and I will forward them to Sara. If you'd like to check out their blog, go to http://robinsinclair.tumblr.com/. It is really inspirational to follow - so go back in the archive to the very first post at the beginning of June.

Book Report:

I'd like to share Jack Kornfield with all of you through a couple of this books. One that I read several years ago is A Path With Heart - it was one of the first books on Buddhism that I read and what made it so special is that he is able to make Buddhist philosophy accessible to our very everyday lives . Although he has had quite a fascinating spiritual path, beginning as a monk in Southeast Asia, at his heart, he is down to earth man finding his way in the way in the world. He's the real deal, as we like to say.

Amazon.com
In undertaking a spiritual life, we must make certain that our path is connected with our heart, according to author and Buddhist monk Jack Kornfield. Since 1974 (long before it gained popularity in the 1990s), Kornfield has been teaching westerners how to integrate Eastern teaching into their daily lives. Through generous storytelling and unmitigated warmth, Kornfield offers this excellent guidebook on living with attentiveness, meditation, and full-tilt compassion.
Part of what makes this book so accessible is Kornfield's use of everyday metaphors to describe the elusive lessons of spiritual transformation. For example, he opens with "the one seat" lesson taught to him by his esteemed teacher. Literally it means sitting in the center of a room and not being swayed or moved by all the people and dramas happening around you. On a spiritual level it means sticking "with one practice and teacher among all of the possibilities," writes Kornfield; "inwardly it means having the determination to stick with that practice through whatever difficulties and doubts arise until you have come to true clarity and understanding." The same could be said for this "one book." Among all the spiritual self-help books, this is a classic worth sticking with and returning to--a highly approachable teacher that can only lead to greater clarity and understanding

I purchased his newest book yesterday, The Wise Heart: A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist Psychology. I can't wait to dig in.

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Author, psychologist and pioneering Buddhist teacher Kornfield writes his best book yet (and his previous ones were pretty good). His newest uses the same sweet narrative voice, provides convincing and illustrative anecdotes and stories, and reaches into world traditions and literature as well as contemporary scientific research. This book offers a systematic and well-organized view of Buddhist psychology, complete with occasional diagrams. Concepts and practices are placed in a framework that explains and connects them. It's all done with an eye toward application; most chapters end with exercises. Kornfield has been practicing Buddhism for close to 40 years, a lasting discipline that has produced this masterful book and a seasoned view of life that acknowledges a lot of oopses. As a mediator and psychologist, he has also witnessed some serious angst, including his own, and draws on it for illustrative power. Not everything here is new, least of all the title, but then the Buddha isn't either. The best is left for last: joy you can seek for yourself and others. Just keep your meditative seat, and this book by your bed. Kornfield comes across as the therapist you wish you'd had.

Rae left me a book that she read and enjoyed while sitting in the Baltimore airport all day on Thursday. It looks good to me.
In The Woods by Irish Tana French

From Publishers Weekly
Irish author French expertly walks the line between police procedural and psychological thriller in her debut. When Katy Devlin, a 12-year-old girl from Knocknaree, a Dublin suburb, is found murdered at a local archeological dig, Det. Rob Ryan and his partner, Cassie Maddox, must probe deep into the victim's troubled family history. There are chilling similarities between the Devlin murder and the disappearance 20 years before of two children from the same neighborhood who were Ryan's best friends. Only Maddox knows Ryan was involved in the 1984 case. The plot climaxes with a taut interrogation by Maddox of a potential suspect, and the reader is floored by the eventual identity and motives of the killer. A distracting political subplot involves a pending motorway in Knocknaree, but Ryan and Maddox are empathetic and flawed heroes, whose partnership and friendship elevate the narrative beyond a gory tale of murdered children and repressed childhood trauma.

Website of the Week: www.wikiHow.com - the how-to-manual you can edit.

Podcast of the Week: http://www.oprah.com/xm/ane/ane_main.jhtml A New Earth After-Show featuring Elizabeth Lesser of the Omega Institute. If you haven't heard Elizabeth she is a wonderful complement to the work being done by Eckhard Tolle. Lesser is one of the co-founders of The Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York. She has written The New American Spirituality (recently re-released as The Seeker's Guide) and more recently, Broken Open, her memoir, which gives insight into how she has navigated through this life.

Vocabulary Word of the Week - Wiki

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A wiki is a collection of web pages designed to enable anyone who accesses it to contribute or modify content, using a simplified markup language.[1][2] Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites and to power community websites. The collaborative encyclopedia, Wikipedia, is one of the best-known wikis.[2] Wikis are used in business to provide intranets and Knowledge Management systems. Ward Cunningham, developer of the first wiki software, WikiWikiWeb, originally described it as "the simplest online database that could possibly work".[3]
"Wiki Wiki" (/wiːkiː wiːkiː/) is a reduplication of "wiki", a Hawaiian word for "fast". It has been suggested that "wiki" means "What I Know Is". However, this is a backronym

Cooking and Dining Report:

Just one new recipe and one worth repeating:

Linguine with Zucchini, Pancetta & Parmigiano from Fine Cooking - very interesting combination of flavors - we really liked it! http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/quick-italian-pasta-pancetta-zucchini.aspx?ac=fp

Cioppino from Giada de Laurentiis - this Italian seafood stew is a great meal for winter or summer - I made it last Christmas and we had it this past Friday night siting out on our deck http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_32499,00.html

That's it for now - have a great week ahead - enjoy the upcoming 4th of July weekend! We're excited about Libby and David's arrival on Thursday evening!

Love,

Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - July 27, 2008

2008-08-10T16:25:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

Jack and I spent a lovely weekend in Steamboat Springs and I, unfortunately, missed our Saturday morning walk again. Hope you all had a lovely downtown walk and breakfast at the Farmer’s Market. The main feature of our weekend was the Strings Music Festival – we went to “A Night in Vienna” concert on Saturday night. During the day on Saturday, we took the gondola up to the top of the mountain, walked around a bit and enjoyed burgers and hot dogs off the grill. After a quick and casual dinner at the Steamboat Smokehouse (not great) and before heading over to the concert, we poked around town a bit - checked out the new location of the Off the Beaten Path Bookstore. They are co-sponsor's of the Literary Sojourn along with the Bud Werner Public Library.

Book Report:
I neglected to mention another book that I had finished last week – The Story of a Marriage by Andrew Sean Greer. This is beautifully written book by another of our Literary Sojourn authors. There was a quality to this book that was quite reminiscent to me of Elizabeth Strout’s, Olive Kitteridge. I’m looking forward to hearing from each of these authors at the Sojourn in September.

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. As he demonstrated in the imaginative The Confessions of Max Tivoli, Greer can spin a touching narrative based on an intriguing premise. Even a diligent reader will be surprised by the revelations twisting through this novel and will probably turn back to the beginning pages to find the oblique hints hidden in Greer's crystalline prose. In San Francisco in 1953, narrator Pearlie relates the circumstances of her marriage to Holland Cook, her childhood sweetheart. Pearlie's sacrifices for Holland begin when they are teenagers and continue when the two reunite a few years later, marry and have an adored son. The reappearance in Holland's life of his former boss and lover, Buzz Drumer, propels them into a triangular relationship of agonizing decisions. Greer expertly uses his setting as historical and cultural counterpoint to a story that hinges on racial and sexual issues and a climate of fear and repression. Though some readers may find it overly sentimental, this is a sensitive exploration of the secrets hidden even in intimate relationships, a poignant account of people helpless in the throes of passion and an affirmation of the strength of the human spirit.

Rae has a book to recommend – The Ministry of Special Cases by Nathan Englander – Rae found it to be a “difficult” read , meaning an emotional read but really liked the book.

From Publishers Weekly
[Signature]Reviewed by Allegra Goodman. Young writers are often told to write about what they know. In his 1999 collection, For the Relief of Unbearable Urges, Nathan Englander spun the material of his orthodox Jewish background into marvelous fiction. But the real trick to writing about what you know is to make sure you know more as you mature. Englander's first novel, The Ministry of Special Cases, conjures a world far removed from "The Gilgul of Second Avenue." The novel is set in 1976 in Buenos Aires during Argentina's "dirty war." Kaddish Poznan, hijo de puta, son of a whore, earns a meager living defacing gravestones of Jewish whores and pimps whose more respectable children want to erase their immigrant parents' names and forget their shameful activities. Kaddish labors in the Jewish cemetery at night. His hardworking wife, Lillian, toils in an insurance agency by day, and their idealistic son, Pato, attends college, goes to concerts and smokes pot with his friends. When Pato is taken from home, Kaddish learns what it really means to erase identity, because no one in authority will admit Pato has been arrested. No one will even acknowledge that Pato existed. As Lillian and Kaddish attempt to penetrate the Ministry of Special Cases, Englander's novel takes on an epic quality in which Jewish parents descend into the underworld and journey through circles of hell. Gogol, I.B. Singer and Orwell all come to mind, but Englander's book is unique in its layering of Jewish tradition and totalitarian obliteration. At times Englander's motifs seem forced. Kaddish, whose very name evokes the memory of the dead, chisels out the name of a plastic surgeon's disreputable father, and in lieu of cash receives nose jobs for himself and his wife. Lillian's nose job is at first unsuccessful, and her nose slides off her face. One form of defacement pays for another. Kaddish fights with his son in the cemetery and accidentally slices off the tip of Pato's finger. Attempting to erase a letter, Kaddish blights a digit. But the fight seems staged, Pato's presence unwarranted except for Englander's schema. Other scenes are haunting: Lillian confronting bureaucrats; Kaddish appealing to a rabbi to learn if it is possible for a Jew to have a funeral without a body; Kaddish picking an embarrassing embroidered name off the velvet curtain in front of the ark in the synagogue. When he picks off the gold thread, the name stands out even more prominently because the velvet underneath the embroidery is unfaded, darker than the rest of the fabric. Englander writes with increasing power and authority in the second half of his book; he probes deeper and deeper, looking at what absence means, reading the shadow letters on history's curtain.

I am in the middle of a book that Rae had recommended to me a while ago and I am totally engrossed - I will tell you more about Broken For You by Stephanie Kallos next week.

As an update, our A New Earth study group is moving on to Chapter 6 this coming week. What a terrific experience it has been to work through this book chapter by chapter with this wonderful group of women.

Jack is just about finished with the Pete Hamill memoir, A Drinking Life. Hamill is one of our favorite writers and he is such a New York "legend".

From Publishers Weekly
Hamill's autobiography entails his long odyssey to sobriety. This is not a jeremiad condemning drink, however, but a thoughtful, funny, street-smart reflection on its consequences. To understand Hamill ( Loving Women ), one must know his immigrant parents: Anne, gentle and fair; Billy, one-legged and alcoholic. The first offspring of this union--Republicans in Belfast, Democrats in Brooklyn--Hamill has a special gift for relating the events of his childhood. He recreates a time extinct, a Brooklyn of trolley cars, Dodgers, pails of beer and pals like No Toes Nocera. He recalls such adventures as the Dodgers' 1941 pennant and viewing the liner Normandie lying on its side in the Hudson River. We partake in the glory of V-J day and learn what life in Hamill's neighborhood was centered on: "Part of being a man was to drink." Puberty hits him and booze helps him to overcome his sexual shyness. But Hamill's childhood ended early. After dropping out of high school he lived on his own, working at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and drinking with his workmates. Wanting more, he studied art, soon meeting a nude model named Laura who was a lot different from the neighborhood girls, those "noble defenders of the holy hymen." And escape was always on Hamill's mind. First it was the Navy, then Mexico, but it was always the same--drinking nights which today he can't remember. There were fist-fights and jail time in Mexico and he learned that "drinking could be a huge fuck you to Authority." Back home with a job at the New York Post , he mastered his trade at the Page One bar every morning, drinking with other reporters. Much time was spent in saloons away from his wife and two daughters and he remembers the taunts of his childhood, "Your old man's an Irish drunk!" Then one New Year's Eve 20 years ago he noticed all the drunkenness and had his last vodka. When asked why, he said, "I have no talent for it." It may be the only talent Hamill lacks.

Website of the Week: www.freeculinaryschool.com – a great site for basic cooking techniques

Podcast of the Week: www.ted.com – “Inspired talks by the world's greatest thinkers and doers” – you can subscribe to this on Itunes but it is a great site and you can always listen to the talks right on your computer.

Vocabulary Word of the Week: Burrata – this was on our salad last night!

From Wikipedia:

Burrata is a fresh Italian cheese, made from mozzarella and cream. The outer shell is solid mozzarella while the inside contains both mozzarella and cream, giving it a unique soft texture. It is usually served fresh, at room temperature. Burrata, once only packaged in leaves, is nowadays wrapped in a plastic sheet, sometimes printed with a leaves pattern on the outside. Even so, the tradition of having a wrapper of asphodel leaves (leeks) is still followed, even if only covering outside the plastic. The leaves are indicators of the freshness of the Burrata; as long as the leaves are green, the cheese within is still fresh and ready to ooze out. The name "burrata" means "buttered" in Italian.

History

As with other mozzarellas, Burrata owes its existence to the water buffalo, a large beast that was brought to Italy from its native Asia sometime in the 1400s. Water buffalo milk is richer and higher in protein than that of cows, yielding 1.6 times more cheese. It also lacks the yellow pigment carotene found in cow’s milk, so mozzarella di bufala is pure white. Although mozzarella was originally made with the milk of water buffaloes, and the best still is (in Italy, the legal name for cow’s-milk "mozzarella," is fior di latte), almost all American mozzarella is made from cow’s milk.

Burrata originated from a small area of Apulia region, called Murgia. First produced around 1920 on the Bianchini farm[citation needed] in the town of Andria, (about 2/3 of the way up from Italy's heel to the spur of Apulia). In the 1950s, it became more widely available after a few of the local cheese factories - notably Chieppa[citation needed] - began producing it. It is generally suspected that factories were interested in it because it was a way to utilize the ritagli ("scraps" or "rags") of mozzarella. Established as an artisanal cheese, Burrata maintained its premium-product status even after it began to be made in a number of factories from Andria, Bari, Gioia del Colle, Modugno, all the way to Martina Franca, an eighty-mile stretch of Puglia. Notably, only in recent years has it traveled outside of its native Apulia.

Production

Burrata starts out much like mozzarella, which begins like other cheeses, with rennet used to curdle the warm milk. But then, unlike other cheeses, fresh mozzarella curds are plunged into hot whey or lightly salted water, kneaded and pulled to develop the familiar stretchy strings (pasta filata), then shaped in whatever form is desired.

When making Burrata, the still-hot cheese is formed into a pouch, which is then filled with scraps of leftover mozzarella and topped off with fresh cream (panna) before closing. The finished Burrata is traditionally wrapped in the leaves of asphodel (leeks) tied to form a little brioche-like topknot, and moistened with a little whey. For convenience, these days the cheese is often placed in polyethylene, a plastic bag. The asphodel leaves, if present in packaging, should still be green when the cheese is served, to indicate the cheese’s freshness.

Serving indications

When the Burrata is sliced open, its ritagli-thickened panna flows out. The cheese has a rich, buttery flavor, and retains its fresh milkiness. It is best when eaten within 24 hours, and is considered past its prime after 48 hours. This cheese, due to its particular form (once opened, it must be eaten immediately) and the particularity given by the different texture of the inside and outside, can be served with salad, Prosciutto crudo, hard crusted bread, or with fresh tomato, olive oil and cracked black pepper. It may also be enjoyed tossed on top of drained penne or spaghetti.

Cooking and Dining Report:
I did do some cooking this past week but the highlight of this week was our dinner out on Friday night in Steamboat. We ate at Café Diva which I wrote about after last year’s book group trip to the Literary Sojourn. It is a very nice restaurant located right at the foot of the ski slope in Steamboat. The menu changes seasonally and offers some very unique dishes. Jack and I shared a salad featuring burrata cheese and arugula with olives and cherry tomato halves. Jack had Elk Tenderloin which he liked very much and I had Cornmeal Crusted Soft-Shell Crabs on a Sweet Potato Cake and served with corn and jalapeno relish – very yummy! Jack had a Colorado Peach Crumble with Vanilla Ice Cream for dessert. Check out their menu - http://www.cafediva.com/html/flash.html

We ended up having breakfast on Saturday and Sunday at Winona's in downtown Steamboat - right on Lincoln Ave - really terrrific little place that offers breakfast and lunch only. We tried to go to Lucile's in Steamboat this morning but apparently it has closed its location there. I think they were too far off the beaten path.

Some recipes that worked out well this week:

From Fine Cooking - Steamed Mussels with Wine, Garlic and Parsley - one of our favorites and this is a great version - http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/steamed_mussels_wine_garlic.aspx

From Fine Cooking - Pancetta, Tomato & Avocado Sandwich with Aioli - a nice summer dinner - http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/pancetta-tomato-avacado-sandwich-aioli.aspx

From Fine Cooking - Argentine Spice-Rubbed Steak with Salsa Criolla - another great flank steak recipe - http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/argentine-spice-rubbed-flank-streak-salsa-criolla.aspx

Judy also shared a couple of Fine Cooking recipes that she and Joe really liked - they both look yummy!:

Summer Vegetable Soup with Dill - http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/cold-summer-vegetable-soup-dill.aspx?langtype=1033&ac=ts&ra=fp

Grilled Chicken with Balsamic Apricot Glaze Serves six to eight.

Ingredients

2 Tbs. unsalted butter
1/2 cup apricot preserves
3 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
Kosher salt
Vegetable oil for the grill
Two 4-lb. chickens, each cut into 8 pieces, or 5 to 6 lb. good-quality bone-in skin-on chicken thighs, drumsticks, and breasts, each breast half cut into two pieces
Freshly ground black pepper

How to make: In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the preserves, vinegar, red pepper flakes, rosemary, and a large pinch of salt; stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. (If making ahead, store covered in the refrigerator. Before using, warm over low heat to loosen the consistency.)

Prepare a medium gas or charcoal grill fire. Using a stiff wire brush, scrub the cooking grate thoroughly. Dip a folded paper towel into vegetable oil and, using tongs, rub it over the grill grate.

Season the chicken lightly with salt and pepper. Set the parts skin side down on the grill. Cook, covered, until the skin is golden brown, about 10 minutes. Stay near the grill, especially during the first 10 minutes, to manage any flare-ups, by moving pieces out of the way. If the chicken is browning too quickly, turn the heat down slightly or close the vents partially. Flip the chicken and cook until an instant-read thermometer reads 165°F in the thickest part of each piece, 5 to 10 minutes more. The thighs, legs, and thinner breast pieces are apt to cook a little faster than the thicker breast pieces. Transfer each piece to a platter when done and tent with foil.

When all the chicken is done, brush it with the glaze on all sides. Return the chicken to the grill and cook for another minute or so on each side to caramelize the glaze. Brush the chicken with any remaining glaze and serve.

Make Ahead Tips

The apricot glaze can be made up to a day ahead and stored covered in the refrigerator. Before using, warm over low heat to loosen the consistency.

That's all for now - have a wonderful week!

Love,

Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - June 22, 2008

2008-06-26T09:34:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

Well, it has been an full weekend around here. Jack and I are celebrating our 39th wedding anniversary today! Part of our weekend celebration included Friday night seeing Macbeth at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival. We've never been to that before and were so delighted with the production. I'm not much of a Shakespeare "buff" but I did some homework in advance - that helped a lot! Last night we went to L'Atelier on Pearl Street - the decor is quite lovely and the menu is wonderful. More about that in the cooking and dining report.

Saturday morning was my turn to lead our walk - we started from the Ideal Market parking lot and did a neighborhood tour around North/Central Boulder, ending up back at Trattoria Radda for breakfast. It was a beautiful, warm morning and we enjoyed sitting outside.

Book Report:

Jan told us about a fascinating book called Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions and Hurtful Acts by Carol Tavris and Eliot Aronson.

Review
"This book casts a bright and penetrating light on how and why nation-states, organizations, and individuals get into malignant messes. But it also shows how they (NOT us) cluelessly keep repeating these offensive, sometimes criminal acts. Tavris and Aronson don''t let any of us off the hook but they do teach us how to avoid hanging ourselves on that hook again and again. One of the most needed and important books for our time." (Warren Bennis)
Review
"This book casts a bright and penetrating light on how and why nation-states, organizations, and individuals get into malignant messes. But it also shows how they (NOT us) cluelessly keep repeating these offensive, sometimes criminal acts. Tavris and Aronson don''t let any of us off the hook but they do teach us how to avoid hanging ourselves on that hook again and again. One of the most needed and important books for our time." (Warren Bennis)

Libby just told me about the book of historical fiction she is reading and enjoying right now, Beneath a Marble Sky by John Shors.

From Publishers Weekly
Shors's spirited debut novel tells the story of the eldest daughter of the 17th-century emperor who built the Taj Mahal. From her self-imposed exile, Jahanara recalls growing up in the Red Fort; the devotion her parents, Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal, had for each other; and the events that took place during the construction of the fabulous monument to their love. Although Jahan is the emperor and has many wives, Mumtaz (he calls her Taj) is his soul mate, a constant companion and wise political consultant. She even travels with him into battle, where she eventually dies giving birth to their 14th child. Fortunately, she has the foresight to begin preparing her favorite daughter, Jahanara, by instructing the girl in the arts of influence and political strategy. Thus the young woman is able to pick up where her savvy mother left off. From then on it is Jahanara who advises the emperor, often instead of her dreamy brother, Dara, who is the rightful heir to the throne. It is she who helps with construction of the magnificent mausoleum for Mumtaz's remains and who falls in love with its architect, Isa, a man whom she can never marry. And it is she who leads a failed effort to defend the throne against a coup by her evil brother, Aurangzeb. With infectious enthusiasm and just enough careful attention to detail, Shors give a real sense of the times, bringing the world of imperial Hindustan and its royal inhabitants to vivid life.

In preparation for a workshop that Rae and I are doing with Buddhist meditation teacher and psychologist, Jack Kornfield, Rae has read his most recent book, The Wise Heart.

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Author, psychologist and pioneering Buddhist teacher Kornfield writes his best book yet (and his previous ones were pretty good). His newest uses the same sweet narrative voice, provides convincing and illustrative anecdotes and stories, and reaches into world traditions and literature as well as contemporary scientific research. This book offers a systematic and well-organized view of Buddhist psychology, complete with occasional diagrams. Concepts and practices are placed in a framework that explains and connects them. It's all done with an eye toward application; most chapters end with exercises. Kornfield has been practicing Buddhism for close to 40 years, a lasting discipline that has produced this masterful book and a seasoned view of life that acknowledges a lot of oopses. As a mediator and psychologist, he has also witnessed some serious angst, including his own, and draws on it for illustrative power. Not everything here is new, least of all the title, but then the Buddha isn't either. The best is left for last: joy you can seek for yourself and others. Just keep your meditative seat, and this book by your bed. Kornfield comes across as the therapist you wish you'd had. (

Karen told me about a dvd that she and Tom love and strongly recommend - Across the Universe

Amazon.com
Set in America during the Vietnam War, Across the Universe is a powerful love story set against a backdrop of political and social unrest: it's a story of soul-searching, self-doubt, and individual powerlessness cleverly conveyed through a multitude of Beatles songs. Like young adults all across America during the 1960's, Jude (Jim Sturgess), Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood), Max (Joe Anderson), Sadie (Dana Fuchs), Prudence (T.V. Carpio), and JoJo (Martin Luther) are in turmoil over the war; questioning their individual roles in the war effort and struggling to find a way to hold true to their beliefs while making a difference in the world. While love proves a powerful uniting force, its limitations become clear as relationships are strained and broken over individual perceptions of responsibility to cause and country. A fairly bizarre juxtaposition of extremely stylized, almost hallucinogenic scenes of swirling colors and reflections, highly choreographed dance segments, seemingly commonplace character interaction, and emotionally packed close-up footage of characters lost in contemplative song, this film imparts a good sense of the confusion and passion of the time and is at once powerful, invigorating, and disturbing. The film runs a bit long at 2-hours 11-minutes and several segments drag noticeably thanks to some incredibly slow song tempos. Warning: this production may change how you think about a favorite Beatles song forever. --Tami Horiuchi

Website of the Week - www.tumblr.com - I discovered this site thanks to a very dear friend of Jexy's. Sara and Jon's 3 year old daughter was recently diagnosed with childhood leukemia and is going to be hospitalized at the Children's Hospital of Cincinnati for an extended period of time. In an effort to easily communicate what's going on with little Robin, her uncle set up a blog on this site. It is incredibly simple to do and has been helpful to them and those of us who want to stay updated. By the way, Robin is a very brave little girl who seems to be making good progress. If you've ever thought about doing a blog, this is a really simple way to get started. It takes about 5 minutes to set up and then you just enter text - you can also include audio, photos and video if you really want to get fancy. You do have the option of keeping your blog private or have it be open for public viewing. It is a great way to keep a journal.

Podcast of the Week - http://www.kcet.org/explore-ca/on-demand/podcasts/archive.php - KCET is a California public radio station that offers a variety of podcasts - check them out!

Vocabulary Word of the Week - equanimity ( I wish this for all of us!)

Pronunciation:
\ˌē-kwə-ˈni-mə-tē, ˌe-kwə-\
Function:
noun
Inflected Form(s):
plural equa·nim·i·ties
Etymology:
Latin aequanimitas, from aequo animo with even mind
Date:
circa 1616
1 : evenness of mind especially under stress 2 : right disposition : balance
synonyms equanimity, composure, sangfroid mean evenness of mind under stress. equanimity suggests a habit of mind that is only rarely disturbed under great strain . composure implies the controlling of emotional or mental agitation by an effort of will or as a matter of habit . sangfroid implies great coolness and steadiness under strain .

Cooking and Dining Report:
Big dinner out last night for our anniversary - L'Atelier at 1739 Pearl Street here in Boulder http://www.latelierboulder.com/. This is one of the most aesthetically pleasing restaurant spaces we've ever seen - just beautiful. The menu is outstanding - so many things we wanted to try. Here's what we settled on:
Jack - Clams Oreganata, Kobe Ribeye Steak and Warm Verona Cake, a rich chocolate cake with a molten liquid center.
Susan - Crispy (not so much) Gnocchi with Sage, Butter and Garlic, Lollypop Lambchops and Roasted Potatoes and Chocolate Foam and Vanilla Custard Parfait.
Everything was quite delicious, the service attentive and not outrageously priced for a very fine restaurant.

I did a bit of cooking this week - here are a few of the recipes

Grilled Proscuitto, Fontina and Sun-Dried Tomato Sandwiches from Fine Cooking - http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/grilled-cheese-prosciutto-fontina-panini.aspx

Broiled Lamb Skewers with Baby Arugula and Lemon Vinaigrette from Fine Cooking - http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/broiled-lamb-skewers-arugula-salad.aspx

Peach and Blueberry Crisp with Spiced-Pecan Topping from Fine Cooking - http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/peach-blueberry-crisp-pecan-topping.aspx - serve with vanilla ice cream!

That's all for now - have a wonderful week - I'm excited that Rae is coming to Boulder on Thursday and we're both looking forward to Jack Kornfield's Meditation Workshop. We'll be cooking together on Thursday!

Love,
Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - June 15, 2008

2008-06-25T05:50:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone !

Hope it was a good Father's Day (not many fathers on this list but we've all had them - Jack and I cherish the memory of our dads, Lenny and John - grandfathers to Mandy, Scott, Rennie, Karen, Gail, Bonnie, Jexy, Libby, Jeff, Alex and James and great-grandfathers to Emily, Meghan, Caleb, Olivia, Kristin, Jason, Bob, Jacob and Natalie. They must be so proud watching our lives.

I'm excited to let you all know that Jacob Milo Rowland has taken the training wheels off of his two-wheeler. Remember what an amazing feeling that was?! Jacob is pretty proud of himself. Check out his picture on the blogsite!
I want to share a beautiful quote that I found from syndicated columnist, Ellen Goodman - this is an excerpt from her book with Patricia O'Brien, I Know Just You Mean: The Power of Friendship in Women's Lives
"When we asked women how they defined what a close friend is, they leaped past the adjectives to describe the impact: being known and accepted, understood to the core, trust and loyalty you can count on, having someone on your side. Having someone to share worries and secrets as well as the good stuff of life. Someone who needs you in return.

Somewhere in the meaning of the word "trust" is the assumption that a friend has your best interest at heart. Friends can be collaborators, the instigators who make change possible. They are often the ones who urge us to take a leap, who jump with us or help us scramble back up the other side.

Talk is at the very heart of women's friendship, the core of the way women connect. It's the given, the absolute assumption of friendship. It can be serious or funny, painful or exuberant, intense or joyous. But at the heart of the connections made is one sentence that women repeat over and over: "I know just what you mean."

Book Report:

Janet just finished Loving Frank a first novel by Nancy Moran. This is a fictionalized account of the mistress of Frank Lloyd Wright.
She really loved it, as did Jexy when she read it several months ago. It's been on my "must read" list for a while. I'll include the review again:

From Publishers Weekly
Horan's ambitious first novel is a fictionalization of the life of Mamah Borthwick Cheney, best known as the woman who wrecked Frank Lloyd Wright's first marriage. Despite the title, this is not a romance, but a portrayal of an independent, educated woman at odds with the restrictions of the early 20th century. Frank and Mamah, both married and with children, met when Mamah's husband, Edwin, commissioned Frank to design a house. Their affair became the stuff of headlines when they left their families to live and travel together, going first to Germany, where Mamah found rewarding work doing scholarly translations of Swedish feminist Ellen Key's books. Frank and Mamah eventually settled in Wisconsin, where they were hounded by a scandal-hungry press, with tragic repercussions. Horan puts considerable effort into recreating Frank's vibrant, overwhelming personality, but her primary interest is in Mamah, who pursued her intellectual interests and love for Frank at great personal cost. As is often the case when a life story is novelized, historical fact inconveniently intrudes: Mamah's life is cut short in the most unexpected and violent of ways, leaving the narrative to crawl toward a startlingly quiet conclusion. Nevertheless, this spirited novel brings Mamah the attention she deserves as an intellectual and feminist. (Aug.)

Janet is also enjoying listening to MiThe Senator's Wife by Sue Miller - sounds like a great summer read!

From Publishers Weekly
Bestselling author Miller (The Good Mother; When I Was Gone) returns with a rich, emotionally urgent novel of two women at opposite stages of life who face parallel dilemmas. Meri, the young, sexy wife of a charismatic professor, occupies one wing of a New England house with her husband. An unexpected pregnancy forces her to reassess her marriage and her childhood of neglect. Delia, her elegant neighbor in the opposite wing, is the long-suffering wife of a notoriously philandering retired senator. The couple have stayed together for his career and still share an occasional, deeply intense tryst. The women's routines continue on either side of the wall that divides their homes, and the two begin to flit back and forth across the porch and into each others physical and psychological spaces. A steady tension builds to a bruising denouement. The clash, predicated on Delia's husband's compulsive behavior and on Meri's lack of boundaries, feels too preordained. But Miller's incisive portrait of the complex inner lives of her characters and her sharp manner of taking them through conflicts make for an intense read.

Website/Blogsite of the Week: At book group this week, Cynthia and Terrie gave us quite a view into the world of on-line dating - so, how about www.match.com!

Podcast of the Week: NPR's wonderful cooking series Hidden Kitchens - http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_detail.php?siteId=5421655

Vocabulary Word of the Week: Transform (as in learning how to ride a bike!)

Pronunciation:
\tran(t)s-ˈfȯrm\
Function:
verb
Etymology:
Middle English, from Middle French transformer, from Latin transformare, from trans- + formare to form, from forma form
Date:
14th century
transitive verb1 a: to change in composition or structure b: to change the outward form or appearance of c: to change in character or condition : convert2: to subject to mathematical transformation3: to cause (a cell) to undergo genetic transformationintransitive verb: to become transformed : change
— trans·form·able \-ˈfȯr-mə-bəl\ adjective
— trans·for·ma·tive \-ˈfȯr-mə-tiv\ adjective
synonyms transform, metamorphose, transmute, convert, transmogrify, transfigure mean to change a thing into a different thing. transform implies a major change in form, nature, or function . metamorphose suggests an abrupt or startling change induced by or as if by magic or a supernatural power . transmute implies transforming into a higher element or thing . convert implies a change fitting something for a new or different use or function . transmogrify suggests a strange or preposterous metamorphosis. transfigure implies a change that exalts or glorifies .

Cooking and Dining Report:
A few selections from my kitchen this week:

Bacon-Wrapped Meatloaf from Fine Cooking - Jack had asked for a meatloaf with mushrooms and this fit the bill - http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/bacon-wrapped-meatloaf.aspx?nterms=50240&ac=fp

Oven-Fried Chicken from Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa - http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_29719,00.html

Chicken and Orzo Frittata from Giada de Laurentiis - a frittata that is cooked in the oven - great for a group - http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_36536,00.html -
I served this with simple roasted asparagus - just toss the asparagus (trim the ends where they snap naturally) in olive oil, salt and pepper. Put in 450 degree oven for about 15 minutes - halfway through cooking, sprinkle with freshly greated Parmigianno Reggiano cheese.

Rugelach - I typically only make these pastry treasures during the Chanukah/Christmas season but we had them yesterday - this recipe is worth repeating and I have to credit Ina Garten with this one:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_35322,00.html

Have a great week ahead!

Love,
Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - June 8, 2008

2008-06-15T16:34:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Barb took Mary, Christie, Jan, Laila, Andrea and I on a great walk through South Boulder - we then celebrated with breakfast at the Southside Walnut Cafe at Table Mesa. It was a fine morning!

Book Report:

Mary has a book to share - she said that there was some worthwhile info and it was entertaining - I am a bit skeptical about this title but here goes.....Make Every Man Want You by Marie Forleo.

Product Description
Did you know that most women have NO IDEA that many of their normal and traditional ways of relating damage their ability to have satisfying relationships with men - and with themselves? In this entertaining and enlivening guide, you'll discover how to break free from old conditioning, dissolve habits that wreak havoc on relationship bliss, and learn how to unleash your authentic irresistibility once and for all. * If you're not meeting the men you want, this book will show you why and what you can do to turn things around right now. * If you're stuck in bad relationship patterns and want to stop the insanity, this book will set you straight. * If you're already in a relationship but can't seem to hold his interest, this book will reveal secrets to keep him wanting more, more, more!

About the Author
Marie Forleo is a world-renowned life coach and fitness personality. She has worked with Self Magazine, Prevention, MTV, VH1, Crunch Fitness and has appeared on the CBS Morning Show, The Today Show, Fox News and on Forbes.com. Marie is a Nike Sponsored Athlete and Master Trainer. Her coaching clients include CEOs, entrepreneurs, artists and executives around the world who are interested in having excellence and well-being in mind, body and soul.

I finally finished Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick. I was pretty enthusiastic for the first half of the book but then it kind of stalled for me. I got a bit bogged down with it and lost interest by the end. I do think that it is worth reading - there is much to be learned from the mistakes that our Puritan ancestors made. We're pretty slow learners!

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. In this remarkable effort, National Book Award–winner Philbrick (In the Heart of the Sea) examines the history of Plymouth Colony. In the early 17th century, a small group of devout English Christians fled their villages to escape persecution, going first to Holland, then making the now infamous 10-week voyage to the New World. Rather than arriving in the summer months as planned, they landed in November, low on supplies. Luckily, they were met by the Wampanoag Indians and their wizened chief, Massasoit. In economical, well-paced prose, Philbrick masterfully recounts the desperate circumstances of both the settlers and their would-be hosts, and how the Wampanoags saved the colony from certain destruction. Indeed, there was a first Thanksgiving, the author notes, and for over 50 years the Wampanoags and the Pilgrims lived in peace, becoming increasingly interdependent. But in 1675, 56 years after the colonists' landing, Massasoit's heir, Philip, launched a confusing war on the English that, over 14 horrifying months, claimed 5,000 lives, a huge percentage of the colonies' population. Impeccably researched and expertly rendered, Philbrick's account brings the Plymouth Colony and its leaders, including William Bradford, Benjamin Church and the bellicose, dwarfish Miles Standish, vividly to life. More importantly, he brings into focus a gruesome period in early American history. For Philbrick, this is yet another award-worthy story of survival.

Website of the Week: another blog this week - Janet Tyrell-Eads and her three sons have embarked on their journey to the East Coast to enhance the boys' American history studies. Richard is joining them at points along the way but mostly it is Janet and the boys for the entire summer. They left last Sunday and there are a few posts there already. http://tyrrelltrips.blogspot.com/2008/06/on-road.html

Podcast of the Week: A specific podcast from This American Life on NPR - The Prosecutor - pretty unsettling story of our political climate but an important story.
"A lawyer in the Justice Department gets the professional opportunity of a lifetime: to be the lead prosecutor in one of the first high-profile terrorist cases since 9/11. But things go badly for him. His convictions get overturned, he loses his job, and he ends up on trial himself, in federal court. His accusers? His former colleagues at the Justice department."

Vocabulary Word of the Week: from the winner of the National Spelling Bee 2008, Sameer Mishra - guerdonAlternative spellings
gerdon (obsolete)

[edit] Etymology
From Old French guerdon, from Proto-Romance and mediaeval Latin widerdonum, from West Germanic ( > Old English wiþerlēan), literally ‘again-payment’, with the second element assimilated to Latin donum ‘gift’.

[edit] Pronunciation
IPA: /ˈgɜ:dən/

Noun
Singular
guerdon
Plural
guerdons

guerdon (plural guerdons)

(now literary) A reward, prize or recompense for a service; an accolade.
Late 14th century: — Geoffrey Chaucer, "The Franklin's Prologue and Tale", The Canterbury Tales
My gerdon is but bresting of myn herte.
1819: Walter Scott, Ivanhoe
"That will I do blithely," replied the Pilgrim, "and without guerdon; my oath, for a time, prohibits me from touching gold."

Verb
Infinitive
to guerdon
Third person singular
guerdons
Simple past
guerdoned
Past participle
guerdoned
Present participle
guerdoning

to guerdon (third-person singular simple present guerdons, present participle guerdoning, simple past and past participle guerdoned)

(transitive) To give such a reward to.

Usage notes
Guerdon was the winning word at the 2008 Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Retrieved from "http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/guerdon"

Cooking and Dining Report:

Several winning recipes from my kitchen this week:

Penne with Tomatoes, Artichokes and Black Olives from Fine Cooking Magazine - http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/penne-tomatoes-artichokes-black-olives.aspx - a nice light pasta dish for a warm summer evening.

Flank Steak with Crispy Polenta and Roasted Shallot Vinaigrette from Epicurious.com - http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/FLANK-STEAK-WITH-CRISPY-POLENTA-AND-ROASTED-SHALLOT-VINAIGRETTE-101713

Orrchiette with Fennel, Sausage and Tomatoes from Fine Cooking Magazine - http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/quick-orcchiette-pasta-fennel-sausage.aspx?ac=fp

Blackberry Cornmeal Cake - http://coconutlime.blogspot.com/2006/08/blackberry-cornmeal-cake.html

Have a great week ahead!

Love,
Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - June 15, 2008

2008-06-15T16:27:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone !

Hope it was a good Father's Day (not many fathers on this list but we've all had them - Jack and I cherish the memory of our dads, Lenny and John - grandfathers to Mandy, Scott, Rennie, Karen, Gail, Bonnie, Jexy, Libby, Jeff, Alex and James and great-grandfathers to Emily, Meghan, Caleb, Olivia, Kristin, Jason, Bob, Jacob and Natalie. They must be so proud watching our lives.

I'm excited to let you all know that Jacob Milo Rowland has taken the training wheels off of his two-wheeler. Remember what an amazing feeling that was?! Jacob is pretty proud of himself. Check out his picture on the blogsite!

I want to share a beautiful quote that I found from syndicated columnist, Ellen Goodman - this is an excerpt from her book with Patricia O'Brien, I Know Just You Mean: The Power of Friendship in Women's Lives

"When we asked women how they defined what a close friend is, they leaped past the adjectives to describe the impact: being known and accepted, understood to the core, trust and loyalty you can count on, having someone on your side. Having someone to share worries and secrets as well as the good stuff of life. Someone who needs you in return.

Somewhere in the meaning of the word "trust" is the assumption that a friend has your best interest at heart. Friends can be collaborators, the instigators who make change possible. They are often the ones who urge us to take a leap, who jump with us or help us scramble back up the other side.

Talk is at the very heart of women's friendship, the core of the way women connect. It's the given, the absolute assumption of friendship. It can be serious or funny, painful or exuberant, intense or joyous. But at the heart of the connections made is one sentence that women repeat over and over: "I know just what you mean."

Book Report:

Janet just finished Loving Frank a first novel by Nancy Moran. This is a fictionalized account of the mistress of Frank Lloyd Wright.
She really loved it, as did Jexy when she read it several months ago. It's been on my "must read" list for a while. I'll include the review again:

From Publishers Weekly
Horan's ambitious first novel is a fictionalization of the life of Mamah Borthwick Cheney, best known as the woman who wrecked Frank Lloyd Wright's first marriage. Despite the title, this is not a romance, but a portrayal of an independent, educated woman at odds with the restrictions of the early 20th century. Frank and Mamah, both married and with children, met when Mamah's husband, Edwin, commissioned Frank to design a house. Their affair became the stuff of headlines when they left their families to live and travel together, going first to Germany, where Mamah found rewarding work doing scholarly translations of Swedish feminist Ellen Key's books. Frank and Mamah eventually settled in Wisconsin, where they were hounded by a scandal-hungry press, with tragic repercussions. Horan puts considerable effort into recreating Frank's vibrant, overwhelming personality, but her primary interest is in Mamah, who pursued her intellectual interests and love for Frank at great personal cost. As is often the case when a life story is novelized, historical fact inconveniently intrudes: Mamah's life is cut short in the most unexpected and violent of ways, leaving the narrative to crawl toward a startlingly quiet conclusion. Nevertheless, this spirited novel brings Mamah the attention she deserves as an intellectual and feminist. (Aug.)

Janet is also enjoying listening to The Senator's Wife by Sue Miller - sounds like a great summer read!

From Publishers Weekly
Bestselling author Miller (The Good Mother; When I Was Gone) returns with a rich, emotionally urgent novel of two women at opposite stages of life who face parallel dilemmas. Meri, the young, sexy wife of a charismatic professor, occupies one wing of a New England house with her husband. An unexpected pregnancy forces her to reassess her marriage and her childhood of neglect. Delia, her elegant neighbor in the opposite wing, is the long-suffering wife of a notoriously philandering retired senator. The couple have stayed together for his career and still share an occasional, deeply intense tryst. The women's routines continue on either side of the wall that divides their homes, and the two begin to flit back and forth across the porch and into each others physical and psychological spaces. A steady tension builds to a bruising denouement. The clash, predicated on Delia's husband's compulsive behavior and on Meri's lack of boundaries, feels too preordained. But Miller's incisive portrait of the complex inner lives of her characters and her sharp manner of taking them through conflicts make for an intense read.

Website/Blogsite of the Week: At book group this week, Cynthia and Terrie gave us quite a view into the world of on-line dating - so, how about www.match.com!

Podcast of the Week: NPR's wonderful cooking series Hidden Kitchens - http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_detail.php?siteId=5421655

Vocabulary Word of the Week: Transform (as in learning how to ride a bike!)

Pronunciation:
\tran(t)s-ˈfȯrm\
Function:
verb
Etymology:
Middle English, from Middle French transformer, from Latin transformare, from trans- + formare to form, from forma form
Date:
14th century
transitive verb1 a: to change in composition or structure b: to change the outward form or appearance of c: to change in character or condition : convert2: to subject to mathematical transformation3: to cause (a cell) to undergo genetic transformationintransitive verb: to become transformed : change
— trans·form·able \-ˈfȯr-mə-bəl\ adjective
— trans·for·ma·tive \-ˈfȯr-mə-tiv\ adjective
synonyms transform, metamorphose, transmute, convert, transmogrify, transfigure mean to change a thing into a different thing. transform implies a major change in form, nature, or function . metamorphose suggests an abrupt or startling change induced by or as if by magic or a supernatural power . transmute implies transforming into a higher element or thing . convert implies a change fitting something for a new or different use or function . transmogrify suggests a strange or preposterous metamorphosis . transfigure implies a change that exalts or glorifies .

Cooking and Dining Report:
A few selections from my kitchen this week:

Bacon-Wrapped Meatloaf from Fine Cooking - Jack had asked for a meatloaf with mushrooms and this fit the bill - http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/bacon-wrapped-meatloaf.aspx?nterms=50240&ac=fp

Oven-Fried Chicken from Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa - http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_29719,00.html

Chicken and Orzo Frittata from Giada de Laurentiis - a frittata that is cooked in the oven - great for a group - http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_36536,00.html -
I served this with simple roasted asparagus - just toss the asparagus (trim the ends where they snap naturally) in olive oil, salt and pepper. Put in 450 degree oven for about 15 minutes - halfway through cooking, sprinkle with freshly greated Parmigianno Reggiano cheese.

Rugelach - I typically only make these pastry treasures during the Chanukah/Christmas season but we had them yesterday - this recipe is worth repeating and I have to credit Ina Garten with this one:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_35322,00.html

Have a great week ahead!

Love,
Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - June 1, 2008

2008-06-01T20:22:00.000-07:00

Happy June!
We've had a gorgeous summer weekend here in Colorado. Saturday morning, Andrea led Jan, Laila, Barb, Mary and me on a beautiful walk around Twin Lakes in Gunbarrel - we joined Christie at Page 2 Cafe.

This morning my summer got off to a "high-flying" start, literally! Jack gave me a gift certificate for a Mile HIgh Glider Ride and today was the day. It was fantastic! It really is an experience I would recommend. As beautiful as Boulder and the surrounding foothills are from the ground, having a birds-eye view is just spectacular. I'll be posting photos on the blog, so do check them out at http://cookinandbookin.blogspot.com.

Book Report:

Christie is very enthusiastic about a book that she just couldn't put down - The Shack by William Young
Review
When the imagination of a writer and the passion of a theologian cross-fertilize the result is a novel on the order of "The Shack." This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress" did for his. It's that good! --Eugene Peterson, Professor Emeritus of Spiritual Theology, Regent College, Vancouver, B.C.

Finally! A guy-meets-God Novel that has literary integrity and spiritual daring. "The Shack" cuts through the cliches of both religion and bad writing to reveal something compelling and beautiful about life's integral dance with the Divine. This story reads like a prayer--like the best kind of prayer, filled with sweat and wonder and transparency and surprise. When I read it, I felt like I was fellowshipping with God. If you read one work of fiction this year, let this be it. --Mike Morrell, zoecarnate.com

"The Shack" is a one of a kind invitation to journey to the very heart of God. Through my tears and cheers, I have been indeed transformed by the tender mercy with which William Paul Young opened the veil that too often separated me from God and from myself. With every page, the complicated do's and don't that distort a relationship into a religion were washed away as I understood Father, Son and Holy Spirit for the first time in my life. --Patrick M. Roddy, ABC News Emmy Award winning producer

Review
Finally! A guy-meets-God Novel that has literary integrity and spiritual daring. "The Shack" cuts through the cliches of both religion and bad writing to reveal something compelling and beautiful about life's integral dance with the Divine. This story reads like a prayer--like the best kind of prayer, filled with sweat and wonder and transparency and surprise. When I read it, I felt like I was fellowshipping with God. If you read one work of fiction this year, let this be it. --Mike Morrell, zoecarnate.com

Laila recommends In God's Name by journalist, David Yallo. It appears to be a provocative investigative story about the murder of Pope John Paul I.
Here's a reader review:
This is a difficult book to digest for faithful Roman Catholics like myself. It is the story of a wonderful priest who loved the poor and wanted the church to improve the quality of life for Catholics. Pope John Paul the First was a man who would not seek to impose christian solutions on non-Christians; he was someone who was sensitive to social problems and open to dialogue; with a commitment to the search for unity; a good pastor, a good shepherd in the way that Jesus was; a man who sincerely believed that the church should not be out of date but be a relevant, nurturing factor in the lives of Catholics worldwide.
The press called him the "Smiling Pope." However, in reality Albino Luciani who wished to be called Pope John Paul the First and became the first double name in the history of the papacy was a man of enormous faith. What a shame his 33 days as pope in 1978 was the shortest stint since Pope Medici Leo XI in 1605 who only served 17 days. In all likelihood, he had the inner strength and intelligence to be the greatest pope in the history of the Vatican.

To this end, "In God's Name: An Investigation into the Murder of Pope John Paul I," by highly regarded journalist David A.Yallop is a work of monumental research and importance. The author dares to point a finger at the financial corruption within the Vatican. He names names...Michele Sindona, Roberto Calvi, Lucio Gelli, Cardinal John Patrick Cody of Chicago and Bishop Paul Casimir Marcinkus in Vatican City all coducted illegal activities. And Albino Luciani was determined to put an end to it.

This well-written book is difficult to put down. Quite naturally it is officially condemned by the oligarchy in the Vatican. However, I think it is important for all interested in the pursuit of truth to read this compelling book and drawn one's own conclusion. The evidence is hard to ignore. The conclusion is based on facts. It is truly hard to imagine but I am know convinced that Pope John Paul the First was murdered because he dared to promote positive change and rid the Vatican of corrupt banking practices. Highly recommended.

Bert Ruiz

Website of the Week: http://bitten.blogs.nytimes.com/ - this is actually a food blog written by Mark Bittman of the New York Times

Podcast of the Week: Oprah's Soul Series Podcast - go to www.itunes.com and search for that title - she is doing some pretty amazing interviews with different spiritual teachers - I've heard her interview Jon Kabat Zinn, Pema Chodron, Jill Bolte Taylor and Eckhard Tolle.

Vocabulary Word of the Week - Splendid

splendid
Pronunciation:
\ˈsplen-dəd\
Function:
adjective
Etymology:
Latin splendidus, from splendēre to shine; perhaps akin to Middle Irish lainn bright
Date:
1624
1: possessing or displaying splendor: as a: shining, brilliant b: marked by showy magnificence 2: illustrious, grand3 a: excellent b: being out of the ordinary : singular
— splen·did·ly adverb
— splen·did·ness noun
synonyms splendid, resplendent, gorgeous, glorious, sublime, superb mean extraordinarily or transcendently impressive. splendid implies outshining the usual or customary . resplendent suggests a glowing or blazing splendor . gorgeous implies a rich splendor especially in display of color . glorious suggests radiance that heightens beauty or distinction . sublime implies an exaltation or elevation almost beyond human comprehension . superb suggests an excellence reaching the highest conceivable degree .

Cooking and Dining Report: Some good cooking to tell you about!

Libby had friends for dinner last night - here's the menu. David grilled his specialty steaks with Peter Lugar Steak Sauce. Libby started out with Ina Garten's Gazpacho http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_23574,00.html
Along with the steak, Libby also made one of our family favorites, Spicy Baked Shrimp but did them on the grill instead of the oven - http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/SPICY-BAKED-SHRIMP-1428
She also served whole artichokes which she first steamed and then finished off for a few minutes on the grill and Ina Garten's Corn Salad - http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_23069,00.html
Libby's friend Erin brought homemade Strawberry Shortcake with fresh whipped cream - a perfect ending to a lovely meal!

Here are some of my recipes from this week:

Mark Bittman's Pasta with Soft Shell Crabs as seen on the Today Show - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24844116/ - easy, quick and delicious!

From the Two Meatballs Cookbook, Mark Strausman's Sausage and Peppers - yummmmmm! - this is worth writing out:

2 T olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 medium rend onion, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
6 hot Italian sausages- 1 1/2 pounds (definitely could use turkey sausage)
6 sweet Italian sausages (same as above)
2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch squares
2 yellow bell peppers, cored, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch squares
2 cups canned crushed tomatoes
1 cup dry red wine (always use a wine you would actually drink)
1 t dried oregano
2 fresh thyme sprigs, leaves finely chopped
A small Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese rind (optional)
1/2 t kosher salt
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper

Place a 6 -7 quart casserole over medium heat, and when it is hot, add the olive oil. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the onion and sausages and cook, turning the sausages occasionally, until they are starting to brown, about 10 minutes.
Add the bell peppers and cook for 2 minutes. Raise the heat to high, add the tomatoes and wine, and bring just to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, add the oregano, thyme, cheese rind, if using, salt, and pepper, and cook until the sauce thickens and turns a deep red, about 30 minutes. Remove the Parmesan rind, if using. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Serve with some pasta, tossed with some of the tomato sauce from the stew, or with crusty peasant bread on the side. (I used nice crusty Ciabatta bread and not pasta). Great with a Caesar Salad!

From Bon Appetit, a very seasonal dessert - Rhubarb and Strawberry Compote with Fresh Mint (fresh from Janet's garden!) - http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/RHUBARB-AND-STRAWBERRY-COMPOTE-WITH-FRESH-MINT-242109
great over Boulder's locally made Glacier Vanilla Bean Gelato!

From the Global Gourmet, Five Hour Roast Duck - http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/special/2006/150best/roast-duck.html - very crispy and moist!

Have a great week ahead! Our A New Earth Study Group will be meeting at 9 AM on Thursday, June 5 at Barnes and Noble - Chapter 2.

Love,
Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - May 26, 2008

2008-05-26T16:28:00.000-07:00

Happy Rainy Monday from Boulder!

Well, true to form, it always rains at some point during our Boulder Creek Festival but this is the first time in a while that we've had a "full-out" cold and rainy day. I'm guessing that the Bolder Boulder 10k participants were happy to have cool weather but we decided not to sit out at the Grillo Center Labyrinth today. We did have two spectacular days on Saturday and Sunday - good crowds and great enthusiasm for the labyrinth. Jan and I got to a great concert at the Bandshell yesterday afternoon. The group is called Ron Ivory's One-On-One and they do Motown music. They were terrific and drew quite a crowd. I checked their website and saw that they are appearing at Nissi's in Lafayette on Friday evening, June 13th - anyone interested? I'm guessing they sell out quickly but I"ll check tomorrow.
Hope all of you had a relaxing and fun weekend.

Book Report:

We had our first A New Earth study group this past Thursday. I'm very excited about the work we're going to do together based on this book by Eckhard Tolle. It is not too late to join us if you'd like - we're meeting every other Thursday morning (next on June 5th) at Barnes and Noble Cafe next to Whole Foods in Boulder. We'll be working on Chapter 2.

Chris' daughter-in-law, Stevie recommended a book that she is enjoying - Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen - sounds like a good summer read.

From Publishers Weekly
Two gifted sisters draw on their talents to belatedly forge a bond and find their ways in life in Allen's easygoing debut novel. Thirty-four-year-old Claire Waverley manifests her talent in cooking; using edible flowers, Claire creates dishes that affect the eater in curious ways. But not all Waverley women embrace their gifts; some, including Claire's mother, escape the family's eccentric reputation by running away. She abandoned Claire and her sister when they were young. Consequently, Claire has remained close to home, unwilling to open up to new people or experiences. Claire's younger sister, Sydney, however, followed in their mother's footsteps 10 years ago and left for New York, and after a string of abusive, roustabout boyfriends, returns to Bascom, N.C., with her five-year-old daughter, Bay. As Sydney reacquaints herself with old friends and rivals, she discovers her own Waverley magic. Claire, in turn, begins to open up to her sister and in the process learns how to welcome other possibilities. Though Allen's prose can lean toward the pedestrian and the romance subplots feel perfunctory, the blending of horticultural folklore, the supernatural and a big dollop of Southern flavor should find favor with a wide swath of readers

Website of the Week - http://www.thethirdthird.com/ - this is an online journal for women in the "third third" of their lives - I heard about this on Satellite Sisters and it looks pretty good - check it out and see what you think.

Podcast of the Week- http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesTitle/productCd-0471748986,page-1.html - I would really love to create and produce my own podcast possibly related to the blog content - not quite sure but I'll keep you posted.

Vocabulary Word of the Week - supercilious supercilious From Wiktionary

Etymology
From Latin supercilium (“‘eyebrow, loftiness in demeanour’”).

Pronunciation
(RP) IPA: /ˌsuːpəˈsɪliəs/ or /ˌsjuːpəˈsɪliəs/
(US) IPA: /ˌsuːpɚˈsɪliəs/
Audio (US)help, file
Rhymes: -ɪliəs

Adjective
supercilious (comparative more supercilious, superlative most supercilious)

Positive
supercilious
Comparative
more supercilious
Superlative
most supercilious

Arrogantly superior; showing contemptuous indifference; haughty.
"Now he was a sturdy, straw haired man of thirty with a rather hard mouth and a supercilious manner." --F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, Chapter 1

Translations
haughty
Dutch: hooghartig nl(nl), denigrerend nl(nl)
Italian: altezzoso

Cooking and Dining Report:

Meals were pretty simple around here this week - burgers, ravioli (frozen), leftovers, pizza - lots of other stuff going on leading up to the Creek Festival.

We did have one lovely dinner from the May issue of Gourmet Magazine - it actually was adapted from The Culinary Institute in Hyde Park, N.Y.Chicken Breast Provencal and Parsleyed Potatoes with Saffron (I didn't have saffron and used turmeric instead - worked pretty well and a lot less expensive!)
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/CHICKEN-BREASTS-PROVEN-AL-242287
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/PARSLEYED-POTATOES-WITH-SAFFRON-242288

Barb made a wonderful soup this week - I'm hoping she'll share the recipe - hint, hint, hint!

That's all for now - have a great week coming up!

Love,
Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - May 18, 2008

2008-05-26T16:21:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

What spectacular weekend we have had here Boulder! Warm and sunny at last. Jan, Barb, Christie and I had a lovely downtown walk yesterday morning and enjoyed coffee at Spruce Confections on the West end of Pearl Street. Later in the morning, I joined Chris, Judy, Janet and Kelly for the Kitchens on Fire Tour. This is a fundraising project for The Dairy Center for the Arts and a great opportunity to take a peek at some of the best kitchen remodels in town. http://www.thedairy.org/.

A reminder for those of you who are going to be in town for Memorial Day Weekend - I will be at my usual "post" at the Grillo Center Labyrinth during the Boulder Creek Festival - its not too late to volunteer to staff the event. Do come for a visit while you're at the festival. A parking tip for those of you who decide to brave the crowds - there is free parking in the underground garage at the St. Julian Hotel - I think it is still a well-kept secret.

Another reminder that we are starting our A New Earth by Eckhard Tolle study group this coming Thursday, May 22. We will be meeting every other Thursday for 10 sessions. I'd love for any of you to join us for this endeavor. We'll start with Chapter 1 and work our way through the rest of the book together. I've made a change in location - we'll meet from 9 AM - 11 AM at the Barnes and Noble Cafe (next to Whole Foods in Boulder).

Book Report:

Barb's book group and my book group are both reading one of the books from the upcoming Literary Sojourn in Steamboat Springs, CO. The book is Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick. Early reports are pretty positive. This is a non-fiction work and tells the story of the Pilgrims and the Mayflower unlike anything we learned in school.

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. In this remarkable effort, National Book Award–winner Philbrick (In the Heart of the Sea) examines the history of Plymouth Colony. In the early 17th century, a small group of devout English Christians fled their villages to escape persecution, going first to Holland, then making the now infamous 10-week voyage to the New World. Rather than arriving in the summer months as planned, they landed in November, low on supplies. Luckily, they were met by the Wampanoag Indians and their wizened chief, Massasoit. In economical, well-paced prose, Philbrick masterfully recounts the desperate circumstances of both the settlers and their would-be hosts, and how the Wampanoags saved the colony from certain destruction. Indeed, there was a first Thanksgiving, the author notes, and for over 50 years the Wampanoags and the Pilgrims lived in peace, becoming increasingly interdependent. But in 1675, 56 years after the colonists' landing, Massasoit's heir, Philip, launched a confusing war on the English that, over 14 horrifying months, claimed 5,000 lives, a huge percentage of the colonies' population. Impeccably researched and expertly rendered, Philbrick's account brings the Plymouth Colony and its leaders, including William Bradford, Benjamin Church and the bellicose, dwarfish Miles Standish, vividly to life. More importantly, he brings into focus a gruesome period in early American history. For Philbrick, this is yet another award-worthy story of survival.

Christie read and loved Marley and Me by John Grogan - this sounds like the perfect book for all the dog lovers out there!

From Publishers Weekly
Labrador retrievers are generally considered even-tempered, calm and reliable;and then there's Marley, the subject of this delightful tribute to one Lab who doesn't fit the mold. Grogan, a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer, and his wife, Jenny, were newly married and living in West Palm Beach when they decided that owning a dog would give them a foretaste of the parenthood they anticipated. Marley was a sweet, affectionate puppy who grew into a lovably naughty, hyperactive dog. With a light touch, the author details how Marley was kicked out of obedience school after humiliating his instructor (whom Grogan calls Miss Dominatrix) and swallowed an 18-karat solid gold necklace (Grogan describes his gross but hilarious "recovery operation"). With the arrival of children in the family, Marley became so incorrigible that Jenny, stressed out by a new baby, ordered her husband to get rid of him; she eventually recovered her equilibrium and relented. Grogan's chronicle of the adventures parents and children (eventually three) enjoyed with the overly energetic but endearing dog is delivered with great humor. Dog lovers will love this account of Grogan's much loved canine.

Jan listened to Passing by Nella Larsen. This book deals with a two black women who "pass" as white and the racist world they inhabit.

Amazon.com
The heroine of Passing takes an elevator from the infernal August Chicago streets to the breezy rooftop of the heavenly Drayton Hotel, "wafted upward on a magic carpet to another world, pleasant, quiet, and strangely remote from the sizzling one that she had left below." Irene is black, but like her author, the Danish-African American Nella Larsen (a star of the 1920s to mid-1930s Harlem Renaissance and the first black woman to win a Guggenheim creative-writing award), she can "pass" in white society. Yet one woman in the tea room, "fair and golden, like a sunlit day," keeps staring at her, and eventually introduces herself as Irene's childhood friend Clare, who left their hometown 12 years before when her father died. Clare's father had been born "on the left hand"--he was the product of a legal marriage between a white man and a black woman and therefore cut off from his inheritance. So she was raised penniless by white racist relatives, and now she passes as white. Even Clare's violent white husband is in the dark about her past, though he teases her about her tan and affectionately calls her "Nig." He laughingly explains: "When we were first married, she was white as--as--well as white as a lily. But I declare she's getting darker and darker." As Larsen makes clear, Passing can also mean dying, and Clare is in peril of losing her identity and her life.

Janet is listening to Ruth Reichl's Garlic and Sapphires, the third in a trilogy of food memoirs by the former food critic of the New York Times and the editor-in-chief of Gourmet Magazine. It is a great read for food lovers.

Amazon.com
Fans of Tender at the Bone and Comfort Me with Apples know that Ruth Reichl is a wonderful memoirist--a funny, poignant, and candid storyteller whose books contain a happy mix of memories, recipes, and personal revelations.
Amazon.com Interview
We chewed the fat with Ruth. Read our interview.

What they might not fully appreciate is that Reichl is an absolute marvel when it comes to writing about food--she can describe a dish in such satisfying detail that it becomes unnecessary for readers to eat. In her third memoir, Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise, Reichl focuses on her life as a food critic, dishing up a feast of fabulous meals enjoyed during her tenure at The New York Times. As a critic, Reichl was determined to review the "true" nature of each restaurant she visited, so she often dined incognito--each chapter of her book highlights a new disguise, a different restaurant (including the original reviews from the Times), and a fresh culinary adventure. Garlic and Sapphires is another delicious and delightful book, sure to satisfy Reichl's foodie fans and leave admirerers looking forward to her next book, hopefully about her life with Gourmet.

Judy recommends a novel - The Saffron Kitchen by Yasmin Crowthers

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Crowther's debut novel paints a vivid double portrait of a spirited mother-daughter pair, first- and second-generation immigrants to England from Iran whose relationship grows turbulent when shadows from the mother's past begin to overwhelm her. This beautifully produced reading starts with the bright voice of Ariana Fraval as Sara, the daughter, but it is soon overtaken by the darker, melodically accented tones of Mehr Mansuri as Maryam, Sara's mother. Maryam returns to the tiny village where she grew up to come to terms with her past, especially with the ghost of her father and with her first love, Ali, who has been waiting for her return. As Maryam journeys through Iran and back into her memories, and then induces Sara to come too, Mansuri's voice takes on myriad emotional shades, from wonder and delight to sharp regret and painful uncertainty. Intervals of Persian-inflected music helps set an exotic yet contemplative mood. Fraval and Mansuri's authentic pronunciation of the occasional foreign words allows listeners to be swept up by Crowther's lovely, haunting story even more easily than when reading it for themselves.

Movie Recommendation from Jan - Young at Heart - a documentary about a senior citizen's chorus in New England - it has gotten rave reviews!
http://www.fandango.com/youngheart_112674/movieoverview?date=

Website of the Week - Liz Pulliam Weston is a financial expert featured on MSN. I have heard her on one of my podcasts - Satellite Sisters and Terri recently shared an article by her on charitable giving.
http://www.asklizweston.com/

Podcast of the Week - Diane Rehm interviewed Lynne Rossetto Kasper of public radio's The Splendid Table - Lynn is promoting her new book, How To Eat Supper.
http://wamu.org/programs/dr/08/05/01.php

Vocabulary Word of the Week - umbrage

um·brage Audio Help /ˈʌmbrɪdʒ/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[uhm-brij] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun 1. offense; annoyance; displeasure: to feel umbrage at a social snub; to give umbrage to someone; to take umbrage at someone's rudeness.
2. the slightest indication or vaguest feeling of suspicion, doubt, hostility, or the like.
3. leaves that afford shade, as the foliage of trees.
4. shade or shadows, as cast by trees.
5. a shadowy appearance or semblance of something.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Origin: 1400–50; late ME < OF; see umbra, -age]

—Synonyms 1. pique, grudge, resentment.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006

Cooking and Dining Report - lots to cover here!

For those of you who may visit Cleveland, Ohio, I'm including a review from my niece, Mandy about a hot and trendy restaurant there -

"Well, we finally got to Lola for dinner. Lola is the brainchild of Michael Symon, the newest Iron Chef. It's the most hyped restaurant in Cleveland. (Stop laughing -- there's actually a decent food scene here, helped perhaps by our awesome West Side Market!) I was worried that high expectations would mar the experience, but everything was phenomenal!

We started with appetizers and drinks (a classic Manhattan for Rob and a signature "Pomegranate & Figs" martini served over sparking wine for me). Rob had the beet salad with goat cheese and I ordered the Beef Cheek Pierogie. Both were delicious, but I think I won that round. For our main course, Rob enjoyed the Black Bass with mussels and clams, fennel and potatoes, all in a citrus broth. I had the Rainbow Trout in almond brown butter with haricots vert and a sweet butternut squash puree. Delicious!!

We forced ourselves to have dessert, since we had heard about the chef's signature "6am Special" -- maple-bacon ice cream over 2 small pieces of brioche French toast with a drizzle of maple syrup. The bacon wasn't weird at all and the dish was fabulous. We also tried the Exotic Fruit Sundae, a layered parfait with pineapple, coconut crumble, a thick whipped cream and mango sorbet. The sorbet was outstanding, but the dessert itself didn't hold a candle to the 6am Special! All in all, I'm happy to report that Lola lived up to the hype."

Here are some related links:

http://www.lolabistro.com/

http://www.freetimes.com/stories/14/29/lola-2-the-return

and here's a segment from "No Reservations" when Bourdain visited Lola:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9-qkxh7Rgc

And here's a link to the West Side Market. (The Cafe has a terrific breakfast!)
http://www.westsidemarket.com/

Some good cooking going on here this past week:

Slashed Chicken with Herb Butter from Williams Sonoma -
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/recipedetail.cfm?objectid=7A9FAE6C%2DCF80%2D2FBE%2DEA0A0203BDFD8C19

Seared Flank Steak with Shallot and Mustard Sauce from Fine Cooking
http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/flank-steak-shallot-mustard.aspx

Bucatini in a Spiced Tomato Sauce with Crisped Pancetta from Fine Cooking - I found the Bucatini at Cheese Importers in Longmont - great source for gourmet foods - http://www.cheeseimporters.com/
http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/bucatini-spicy-tomato-sauce-crisped-pancetta.aspx

Light Meat and Cheese Lasagna from Cooks Illustrated
http://preheat.wordpress.com/2007/11/17/ci-light-meat-cheese-lasagna/

Whew - that's it for now - lots of catching up here!

Have a delightful week and I hope to see you at the Creek Festival this weekend!

Love,
Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - May 11, 2008

2008-05-26T16:14:00.000-07:00

We're back!

Jack and I got back to Boulder last night after a wonderful trip to our old college town of Boston and then a few days in Camden, Maine. It should come as no surprise to any of you that our entire trip was focused on the fabulous food all along the way. We did also enjoying see old friends and great sights. Here are some of the highlights:

Our first night in Boston, we made a beeline for the North End - the great Italian neighborhood we knew and loved - it is still great but quite transformed from 40 years ago!
Dinner was at the Terramia - a tiny little place with wonderful food -
http://www.terramiaristorante.com/
I had the Ravioli Carciofi - House made artichoke and Fontina ravioli, pulled duck confit, exotic mushrooms, asparagus Truffle purée
Jack had the Risotto Con Aragosta Ed Granchio - Carnaroli rice, saffron, fresh Maine lobster and crab meat, charcoal roasted peppers

Sunday morning, we visited a small art museum - The Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum - a remarkable private collection set in a building designed to evoke a 15th-century Venetian palace. The building and the central courtyard gardens alone are worth the trip.

Sunday afternoon, we had a special visit with an old friend of my mom's, Aunt Helen. Aunt Helen and my mom were childhood friends and stayed close until my mother's death. Helen is in her 90's now and is quite remarkable. She certainly doesn't get around like she used to but she's as sharp as ever - I think her memory is better than mine! She lives in Brookline, Mass, just outside the city.
I used to live not far from there and Jack and I went to see if our favorite neighborhood pizza place, Pinos, was still there - it sure was and it was just as we remembered it. There was even a banner outside, proclaiming that it had been there for 45 years. The pizza was and is still as good as ever.

Sunday evening, we had another reunion with my friend Joyce and her husband Lloyd. Joyce and I went to both high school and college together at Boston University. Jack had been at Northeastern and Lloyd went to Brandeis. We actually fixed them up! It was wonderful to catch up and we enjoyed a lovely dinner at Davio's, a Northern Italian steakhouse in downtown Boston. Jack had a delicious steak and I had huge, succulent sauteed shrimp.

On Monday after a nice breakfast on Newbury Street in the Back Bay section of Boston - The Trident Booksellers Cafe - http://www.tridentbookscafe.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp, we headed up to the North Shore and out to Cape Ann. This was always a favorite area for us. We had lunch in Rockport at My Place By the Sea - a lovely restaurant situated at Bear Skin Neck in Rockport. I loved it because they are right on the water and had great New England Clam Chowder. http://www.myplacebythesea.com/
We took a leisurely drive back to Boston, going through charming towns like, Gloucester, Magnolia, Beverly, Prides Crossing, Swampscott and Lynn. This trip to the North Shore is a nice alternative to Cape Cod.
Dinner on Monday night was at the Turner Fisheries in the Westin Hotel at Copley Square. We had dinner there when Libby graduated from Boston College. A fairly upscale seafood restaurant, Jack and I shared more clam chowder, followed by Boston Schrod for me and Baked Stuffed Shrimp for Jack.

On Tuesday, Joyce and I spent the afternoon together - we did a nostalgic tour of the Boston University campus and after much effort, gained access to our old dorm - yikes - that building hasn't held up too well!
We had lunch together in Kenmore Square at a place called Eastern Standard. http://www.easternstandardboston.com/ES_viewer.html
By dinnertime that evening, Jack and were feeling "fine dining" fatigue so we just went to a neighborhood pizza place - not the best so I wouldn't recommend it.

On Wednesday, we ate a hearty breakfast at the Paramount in the neighborhood of Beacon HIll -
http://www.paramountboston.com/pages/home.html - their specialty is blueberry pancakes and Jack thought they were terrific.
Then we hit the road for our next few days in Camden, Maine.

In the interest of space and time, I will give you a quick run-through of our favorite places and meals along the coast of Maine.

In Wiscasset, two must stops:
The Seabasket - lobster stew and lobster roll
Red's Eats - lobster roll - all time best!

In Camden, we stayed at the gracious Hartstone Inn. The chef/owner,Michael Salmon and his wife, Mary Jo were warm and welcoming hosts. They prepared very elegant breakfasts and our dinner there on Friday night was phenomenal. Do check out the website for an overview of the inn and sample menus and recipes. http://www.hartstoneinn.com/

A couple of other very good casual restaurants in town were Cappy's for fish and chowder and the Camden Deli for a good lunch.

Down the road in Rockport, Maine, we went to the very unique Prism Gallery and Cafe. In addition to a very nice menu, they also had some spectacular artistic glass on display in the gallery.

Other highlights of our time in Maine were:
A visit to the Swan Island Blankets - http://www.swansislandblankets.com/ - they make magnificent hand-woven wool blankets.
A visit to Windsor Chairmakers - http://www.windsorchair.com/
A visit to Pemaquid Point Lighthouse - http://lighthouse.cc/pemaquid/

I'm going to save our usual "departments" for next week - its good to be home and will remember this vacation fondly.

I hope that all of you moms had a very Happy Mother's Day.

Have a great week ahead!

Love,
Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - April 27, 2008

2008-05-26T16:05:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

Our wonderful Saturday morning walkers had a mini-reunion yesterday. Jan, Andrea, Laila, Mary, and Christie joined me for a lovely walk around old town Longmont ending up at Lucile's for breakfast. We were delighted to be joined there by Terri and Linn! It was great to be with all of you but missed those of you who couldn't be with us - Barb, Cass, Annette, Kris and Jackie. Breakfast was amazing, especially those naughty beignets!

Some good news to share!
Linn is about to embark on a big adventure - she has taken a job as executive chef at a fishing lodge in Alaska! She will be working for a 4 month season at the Alaska Rainbow Lodge - check out the website - http://www.alaskarainbowlodge.com/ - this is a great opportunity for LInn and we wish her a safe and successful journey. By the way, Linn needs to find a home for her 4 year old Golden Retriever mix - she loves to be with other dogs and have space to run around - if you know anyone who might want to give Lily a home, let me know.

Congratulations to Chris and Randy and welcome to new grandson, Callen William. Callan joins his big sister, Kinsale and mom and dad, Tara and Tim.

Congratulations to Penny and Manny and welcome to new granddaughter - Katherine Grace. Katherine joins his big brother, Thomas and mom and dad, Barbara and Alex.

Book Report:

Rae has a book to recommend this week - The Other Side of You by Sally Vickers

From Publishers Weekly
In this hypnotic chronicle of quiet desperation, 45-year-old English psychoanalyst David McBride has an intense and personally illuminating session with a suicidal patient that unlocks his own past. His 40-something married-with-children patient, Elizabeth Cruikshank, is silently tormented by her past love for Thomas Carrington, whom, she slowly tells David, she lost track of before her marriage, but met again in Rome as he pursued his passion for Caravaggio. David is not in love with his wife, Olivia, but doesn't much mind: he's emotionally crippled by guilt at the death of his brother in a street-crossing accident (he was five, his brother six). When he hears all of Elizabeth's story, however, something awakens. Vickers (Instances of the Number 3), a psychologist by training, portrays the therapeutic process in all of its messy glory—its imperfections, conflicts and possibilities—and she delivers wrenching conflicts of love within and outside of marriage. Caravaggio's work, in its own right and as symbolic of the role of art, becomes a lovely third theme, though not as richly plumbed as those of love and therapy. (Mar.)

Terri reminded me of a book that she and I have both read - it is a wonderful memoir - The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother by James McBride - do check it out!

Amazon.com
Order this book ... and please don't be put off by its pallid subtitle, A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother, which doesn't begin to do justice to the utterly unique and moving story contained within. The Color of Water tells the remarkable story of Ruth McBride Jordan, the two good men she married, and the 12 good children she raised. Jordan, born Rachel Shilsky, a Polish Jew, immigrated to America soon after birth; as an adult she moved to New York City, leaving her family and faith behind in Virginia. Jordan met and married a black man, making her isolation even more profound. The book is a success story, a testament to one woman's true heart, solid values, and indomitable will. Ruth Jordan battled not only racism but also poverty to raise her children and, despite being sorely tested, never wavered. In telling her story--along with her son's--The Color of Water addresses racial identity with compassion, insight, and realism. It is, in a word, inspiring, and you will finish it with unalloyed admiration for a flawed but remarkable individual. And, perhaps, a little more faith in us all.

Another DVD recommendation from Jan - Lake of Fire, a provocative documentary on abortion from filmmaker Tony Kaye.

Product Description
Filmmaker Tony Kaye best known for "American History X" has been working on LAKE OF FIRE for the past fifteen years and has made a film that is unquestionably the definitive work on the subject of abortion. Shot in luminous black and white which is in fact an endless palette of grays the film has the perfect aesthetic for a subject where there can be no absolutes no 'right' or 'wrong.' He gives equal time to both sides covering arguments from either extremes of the spectrum as well as those at the center who acknowledge that in the end everyone is 'right' - or 'wrong.' Featuring: Pat BuchananNoam ChomskyAlan M. Dershowitz Director:Tony KayeSpecial Features:Theatrical TrailerTrailer GallerySystem Requirements:Running Time: Approx. 152 minutes Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DOCUMENTARIES/POLITICS UPC: 821575553353 Manufacturer No: TF-55335

Website of the Week - a great site enabling kids to make a difference in the world - http://www.markmakers.org/Default.aspx

Podcast of the Week - a series of podcasts from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. - http://blogs.ushmm.org/index.php/COC2/

Vocabulary Word of the Week - obfuscate

ob·fus·cate

Pronunciation:

\ˈäb-fə-ˌskāt; äb-ˈfəs-ˌkāt, əb-\

Function:

verb

Inflected Form(s):

ob·fus·cat·ed; ob·fus·cat·ing

Etymology:

Late Latin obfuscatus, past participle of obfuscare, from Latin ob- in the way + fuscus dark brown — more at ob-, dusk

Date:

1577

transitive verb1 a: darken b: to make obscure 2: confuse intransitive verb: to be evasive, unclear, or confusing

— ob·fus·ca·tion \ˌäb-(ˌ)fəs-ˈkā-shən\ noun

— ob·fus·ca·to·ry \äb-ˈfəs-kə-ˌtȯr-ē, əb-\ adjective

Cooking and Dining Report:

Jack and I had brunch/lunch with friends yesterday at Brasserie TenTen - it is one of our favorite places in town. They actually have a brunch menu on the weekends but there is a good selection of lunch choices. One of their specialties is beignets but I make it a rule to only have one serving of beignets a day. They sure looked wonderful!

For those of you who don't know, we have a new market in Boulder - The Sunflower Farmers Market opened a couple of weeks ago in the Village Shopping Center on Arapahoe - just south and east of McGuckins. I stopped in briefly yesterday afternoon and I have to say, I wasn't too impressed. However, I do think I should give it a few more tries before making a final judgement. They are new and getting the kinks out. It was packed and felt a bit chaotic but of course, all of us were trying to find our way around. Right now, I don't think that Whole Foods has anything to worry about. I'll keep you posted as I try it again. If any of you have a different impression, please share it with all of us.

Lauren, Evan and I tried a recipe originally from Cooking Light this week for Warm Berry Compote - the actual full recipe is Warm Berry Compote with Polenta - the girls and I made the compote but not the polenta. It was pretty yummy over vanilla yogurt.

I made the compote this morning for our breakfast - Jack had it over pancakes and I had it with the polenta - it was a big hit!

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=printerFriendly&recipe_id=577160

Three other great recipes from a wonderful cookbook that I borrowed from the library - Two Meatballs in the Kitchen by Pino Luongo and Mark Strausman (they are the two meatballs - one is Italian, the other is Jewish - pretty good combination, if you ask me!

Baked Penne with Raddichio and Sausage - http://www.projo.com/food/content/fd-twomeatballsbook_04-09-08_MJ9KCQN_v15.1bc826e.html - a really interesting combination of flavor and texture - I used whole wheat penne and you could certainly use Italian turkey sausage.

Chicken Scarpariello - http://www.projo.com/food/content/fd-twomeatballsbook_04-09-08_MJ9KCQN_v15.1bc826e.html - described by the chefs as similar to Chicken Cacciatore but with a bolder flavor.

Both of the above recipes are on the same webpage along with a great review of the cookbook

I made this one today to have later in the week - I did sneak a taste as I was slicing and it is pretty good!

Tuscan Pot Roast - http://homecooking.about.com/od/beefrecipes/r/blbeef135.htm

Wishing you all a terrific two weeks ahead - Jack and I are leaving on Saturday for a week long trip to Boston and Maine. I don't think I'll get a blog out before I get back but I should have lots to report on when I return.

Love,

Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - April 20, 2008

2008-05-26T15:58:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

I am starting this blog entry sitting at the Burbank Airport waiting for my delayed flight to board. We've had a wonderful week here with Jexy, Joe and Jacob - Jack joined me here on Thursday. Other than reading my assigned Chapter 8 in A New Earth, I was too distracted to do much reading this week.

Book Report:

Libby does have a book recommendation for us - The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perotta

From Publishers Weekly
SignatureReviewed by Jennifer Gilmore Tom Perrotta knows his suburbia, and in The Abstinence Teacher he carves out an even larger chunk of his distinct terrain. Set in the northeastern suburb of Stonewood Heights, Perrotta's sixth book takes on the war between the liberals and the evangelists. When single mother Ruth Ramsay, the sex ed teacher at the local high school, tells her class that oral sex can be enjoyable, the Tabernacle of the Gospel Truth church begins its crusade. Believable or not, the school agrees to an abstinence curriculum and in marches JoAnn Marlowe with her blonde hair and pumps to instill in Ruth the tenets of the new program. Gone are the days of rolling a condom over a cucumber; now Ruth is required to promote restraint, which she does wearily and halfheartedly. These are heady days, when students rat out their teachers and the local soccer coach—Ruth's daughter is on his team—is a divorced ex-druggie and active Tabernacle member. When Tim leads the team in prayer, Ruth wrenches her daughter from the circle and the hostility between the opposing camps grows. Who is bad and who is good? Ruth's youthful promiscuity rises slowly to the surface, while Tim's struggle to stay sober makes him constantly confront his past. He's lost his wife and daughter—also on the soccer team—to his addictions, but now he's clean and married to a Tabernacle girl. His Jesus-loving ways, however, are in direct conflict with his desires, rendering him the most complex and likable character. When he loses his own battle with abstinence at a poker party, the finest scene in the novel culminates with his keying Jesus across the hood of an SUV parked in the drive. Ruth would gladly have sex if it would only come her way, and she also drinks on school nights. A less well-drawn complement to Tim, Ruth is a tolerant liberal with a newly toned body who plays therapist to her gay friends, but who can't accept that her children are interested in Jesus.The lesson is that everybody must give up something. Even Ruth's ex-lover, once a pudgy trumpet player, no longer eats to maintain his abs of steel. So what is lost when we cannot succumb to our desires? Who then do we become? The book is rife with Perrotta's subtle and satiric humor (the Tabernacle is seen as a place of diversity, while the punks, Deadheads and headbangers of Tim's past are all predictably the same), but these questions get lost as the plot winds down. Issues of sex and religion that have shaken the town become, in the end, the story of what Ruth and Tim's newly forged relationship will soon become. (Oct.)Jennifer Gilmore is the author of the novel Golden Country, which will be out in paperback in September.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

I would like to share a poem with you that Jacob wrote in school - I will present it first in his inimitable spelling style. Apparently, the teaching technique used in his kindergarten writers workshop is one that encourages the kids to sound out their words and not worry about spelling at this point - I will follow it up with a translation:

iscream

i hav iscream - I have ice cream
i lic iscream - I lick ice cream
i wont iscream - I want ice cream
i lov iscream - I love ice cream
i am iscream - I am ice cream

I spent quite a bit of time at the Little Flower Candy Shop during the week while Jexy was at work and Jacob was at school. Christine makes the most amazing almond croissants - check out this review by Jonathan Gold in the LA Weekly - http://www.laweekly.com/eat+drink/first-bite/little-flower-candy-company-cafe/18408/. Although I did indulge, I also got some good exercise in - a couple of workouts at the Rose Bowl weight room and a couple of mega walks around Pasadena.

On Tuesday, Joe's mom, Barbara and I had lunch together at a lovely restaurant in Eagle Rock - Camilos - Barbara had the Greek Salad and I had a melted brie sandwich - yum! Before heading home, we stopped for at the Little Flower for a sweet treat - almond cake for Barbara and a delicious chocolate chip cookie for me.

Wednesday, April 16 was Jacob Milo Rowland's 6th birthday - I was lucky enough to deliver the non-edible treats for the whole class at the end of the day at Odyssey Charter School. Dinner that night was Jacob's request for Spaghetti and Turkey Meatballs (see recipe below - actually adapted from Giada's Penne with Turkey Meatballs) followed by a trip out to Coldstone Creamery for iscream.

I had a great day on Thursday - had a pretty extensive walk around Pasadena in the morning and ended up at The Little Flower for lunch with Jexy - I know it looks like I'm going after some kind of record. That evening before Jack arrived, Jacob and I went to the South Pasadena Farmers Market with Carrie, Frank, Tyler and Jesse. Jex was at her class (she's in the process of getting her administrative credentials) and Joe was at the Shambhala Center in Pasadena where he saw a Pema Chodron video.

On Friday morning, I had to take Jack (along with Jex and Joe) to try one of Christine's almond croissants - I acually had something different this time - a bran muffin like no other I've ever tasted!
Friday night, we returned to a favorite barbecue place, Zekes, in Montrose. Terrific ribs and chicken! It was such a beautiful evening, we got to enjoy eating outside.

Saturday was a full day - we celebrated Jacob's birthday with 4 of his friends (boys only!) at Build-A-Bear Workshop in Glendale. They had a great time - pizza and ice cream for all!
Jexy and I spent the afternoon preparing food for the Passover seder, led by "Rebbe" Joe. We were joined by Jacob's other grandparents, Barbara and Morrie. I loved using Jexy's seder plate for the symbolic foods that are part of the seder - it had been a wedding gift from my sister, Marjorie. See the menu and recipes below.

Website of the Week: www.yelp.com - real people, real reviews about just about anything you might be interested in your area.

Podcast of the Week: a specific Nextbook podcast - Before the Exodus - http://www.nextbook.org/cultural/feature.html?id=817 - in honor of Passover

Vocabulary Word of the Week - macerate - from Wikipedia
Maceration is a word that derives from the Latin maceratus ("to soften"; past participle of macerare). It may refer to:

Maceration, in chemistry and herbalism, the preparation of an extract by soaking material (such as animal skins or parts of fibrous plants) in water, vegetable oil or some organic solvent. The word may also refer to the same process when used to produce perfume stock.
Maceration (wine), in viticulture, the steeping of grape skins and solids in must, where alcohol later acts as a solvent to extract colour, tannin and aroma from the skins during the wine fermentation process.
A macerator, in sewage treatment, a machine that reduces solids to small pieces in order to deal with rags and other solid waste.
Maceration (bone), a method of separating of bone from soft body tissue by controlled putrefaction.
A macerator, in chicken farming, a high-speed grinder used to slaughter unwanted male chicks in large numbers.
Maceration, in biology, is the mechanical grinding or kneading of semi-solid food in the stomach into chyme.
Maceration, in dermatology, is the softening and whitening of skin kept constantly wet, leaving it more vulnerable to infection or damage by tearing.

Cooking and Dining Report:

Most of the dining has already been reported - you may notice that food is always the main event when we travel. Here are some of the recipes and websites:

Jacob's Birthday Dinner - Penne with Turkey Meatballs from Giada DeLaurentiis, The Everyday Italian - we used spaghetti.http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_22338,00.html

Here's the menu for the Passover Seder:

Gefilte Fish (not homemade!) with horseradish
Matzoh Ball Soup - homemade by Jexy - forgot to get the recipe from Jex!
Crispy Roast Chicken - recipe from a recent Cooks Illustrated - I have shared that with you so you can search the blog site to get it again - http://cookinandbookin.blogspot.com/
Brown Butter Green Beans with Pine Nuts - from Fine Cooking - http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/brown-butter-green-beans-pine-nuts.aspx?ac=fp
Baked Garnet Yams (Jex did these on her barbecue - yum!)
Flourless Chocolate Cake with Macerated Srawberries - http://www.latimes.com/features/printedition/food/la-fo-passoverrec16dapr16,0,6879410.story

Libby made a roast chicken tonight - she used an old family favorite recipe - pretty simple - a clove studded onion and garlic in the cavity and a flour, ginger, clarified butter rub on the skin.
She served it with Spinach and Parmesan Gratin from Fine Cooking -
http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/spinach-parmesan-gratin.aspx?ac=fp

That's it for now - we arrived home a bit later than we had planned but we're here safe and sound.

Have a great week - for those of you in the Boulder area, take advantage of the milder weather and enjoy a walk on the Grillo Center Labyrinth - www.grillocenter.org

Love,
Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - April 13, 2008

2008-05-26T15:52:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone from here in hot and sunny Los Angeles!

I arrived yesterday - thanks to Jan for taking me to the airport! I'm happy to report that my trip was uneventful - fortunately United was flying working airplanes that actually left and arrived on time - what a concept!

Jexy and I have had a full day starting with a workout at the weight room at the Rose Bowl pool, then we went over to the amazingly huge Rose Bowl Flea Market - neither Jex or I are the most avid shoppers so we both lost our enthusiasm pretty quickly.

I went with Jexy to her book group at the Little Flower Candy Shop. I've written about this shop before - it is owned by a friend of Jexy's from Jacob's Garden School (his former preschool) - Christine is a very talented cook and candy maker. In addition to her famous marshmallows and other sweet treats, she is now serving wonderful lunch fare.
It was fun for me to be with all of Jexy's friends - their selection for this month was Daniel Tammet's memoir, Born on a Blue Day. I read this several months ago and mentioned it on the blog earlier. Tammet was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome as well as being an autistic savant. His story provides a unique perspective on his experience as a child dealing with this condition. Here's the link to the review on Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Born-Blue-Day-Extraordinary-Autistic/dp/1416549013/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208141852&sr=8-2

Book Report: I'm ready to start our book group's selection for May - Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson. Here's the link to Jexy's book group blog - www.recoveringgardner.blogspot.com. You can see what they have already read and will be reading over the next several months.

I am also continuing to read, chapter by chapter, Eckhard Tolle's A New Earth and listen to the web seminar hosted by Tolle and Oprah. It is really quite powerful and I highly recommend the book. It is also not too late to join in on the seminar - you can listen to it live on Monday evenings - just go to www.oprah.com and you can download all of them and listen at your leisure on your computer.

Website of the Week: Women on the Web - http://www.wowowow.com/

Podcast of the Week: I'd like to recommend a specific podcast from Public Radio International's To the Best of our Knowledge - it is called A Good Death and deals with life's final chapter in three very moving segments. http://www.wpr.org/book/080224b.html

Vocabulary Word of the Week: Prosody - this word was used in the "Leonardo's Brain" lecture given by Leonard Shlain, MD at the CU Conference on World Affairs
prosody

Pronunciation:
\ˈprä-sə-dē, -zə-\
Function:
noun
Inflected Form(s):
plural pros·o·dies
Etymology:
Middle English, from Latin prosodia accent of a syllable, from Greek prosōidia song sung to instrumental music, accent, from pros in addition to + ōidē song — more at pros-, ode
Date:
15th century
1: the study of versification; especially : the systematic study of metrical structure2: a particular system, theory, or style of versification3: the rhythmic and intonational aspect of language
— pros·o·dist \-dist\ noun

Cooking and Dining Report:
Two great recipes to share this week:

Spaghetti alla Carbonara from Fine Cooking - http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/authentic-italian-spaghetti-carbonara.aspx?ac=fp - I particularly liked that this recipe has no butter or cream with no sacrifice in texture or taste.

Sear-Roasted Haddock or Cod with Horseradish Aioli and Lemon-Zest Breadcrumbs from Fine Cooking - it was quite delicious with cod - I would use a lot less of the parsley "salad" as the topping. - http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/sear-roasted-fish-aioli-breadcrumbs.aspx

I'm here in LA for the rest of the week, returning next Sunday - I may not get next week's post out on time next week but it will have a full report of all our "adventures" here in LA. Right now, we are getting ready for Jacob's 6th birthday celebration - his request for a birthday dinner is meatballs and spaghetti.

Just a reminder! You can always check out past blog posts you may have missed at http://cookinandbookin.blogspot.com

Have a great week!

Love,
Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - April 6, 2008

2008-04-09T12:55:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

Barb, Jan, Laila, Christie, Mary and I had a great walk this morning - Barb just continues to come up with creative walks on the first Saturday of every month when we always meet at Caffe Sole. It was warmer than any of us expected, so jackets were shed along the way. We did assign dates for the rest of April - Jan will lead on the 12th, Christie on the 19th and I will take the 26th.

Book Report:
I am reading the one of our Literary Sojourn books - Elizabeth Strout's collection of "narratives", Olive Kitteridge. I am not too far along but am already engaged with the characters which run through all of these separate narratives. Strout skillfully captures the personality of place and people. Once again our book group is looking forward to our "sojourn" to Steamboat Springs for this annual event. Check out this year's list of authors - www.literarysojourn.org

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Thirteen linked tales from Strout (Abide with Me, etc.) present a heart-wrenching, penetrating portrait of ordinary coastal Mainers living lives of quiet grief intermingled with flashes of human connection. The opening Pharmacy focuses on terse, dry junior high-school teacher Olive Kitteridge and her gregarious pharmacist husband, Henry, both of whom have survived the loss of a psychologically damaged parent, and both of whom suffer painful attractions to co-workers. Their son, Christopher, takes center stage in A Little Burst, which describes his wedding in humorous, somewhat disturbing detail, and in Security, where Olive, in her 70s, visits Christopher and his family in New York. Strout's fiction showcases her ability to reveal through familiar details—the mother-of-the-groom's wedding dress, a grandmother's disapproving observations of how her grandchildren are raised—the seeds of tragedy. Themes of suicide, depression, bad communication, aging and love, run through these stories, none more vivid or touching than Incoming Tide, where Olive chats with former student Kevin Coulson as they watch waitress Patty Howe by the seashore, all three struggling with their own misgivings about life. Like this story, the collection is easy to read and impossible to forget. Its literary craft and emotional power will surprise readers unfamiliar with Strout.

DVD recommendations from Jan: by the way, all of these DVD's that Jan has recently seen are ones she borrows from the library.

Lust, Caution - a 2007 film by Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain) - "The new film from Ang Lee, the Academy Award-winning director of “Brokeback Mountain” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” A startling erotic espionage thriller about the fate of an ordinary woman’s heart, it is based on the short story by revered Chinese author Eileen Chang, and stars Asian cinema icon Tony Leung opposite screen newcomer Tang Wei. Shanghai, 1942. The World War II Japanese occupation of this Chinese city continues in force. Mrs. Mak, a woman of sophistication and means, walks into a café, places a call, and then sits and waits. She remembers...how her story began several years earlier, in 1938 China. She is not in fact Mrs. Mak, but shy Wong Chia Chi (Tang Wei)."

Planet Earth - More than five years in the making, PLANET EARTH redefines blue-chip natural history filmmaking and continues the Discovery Channel mission to provide the highest quality programming in the world. The 11-part series will amaze viewers with never-before-seen animal behaviors, startling views of locations captured by cameras for the first time, and unprecedented high-definition production techniques. Award-winning actress and conservationist Sigourney Weaver is the series' narrator.

Website of the Week - Common Sense Media - http://www.commonsensemedia.org/ - "Common Sense Media is dedicated to improving the media and entertainment lives of kids and families.
We exist because media and entertainment profoundly impact the social, emotional, and physical development of our nation's children. As a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization, we provide trustworthy information and tools, as well as an independent forum, so that families can have a choice and a voice about the media they consume."

Podcast of the Week - Word for Word - http://wordforword.publicradio.org/ - "You've heard the sound bites. Word for Word gives you a chance to hear from the newsmakers at length. Each week we feature an interesting and timely speech on a hot topic in the news: from the war in Iraq to intelligence gathering, education reform to immigration. Word for Word strives for balance, featuring top policymakers, thinkers and opinion leaders from the left, right and center. We draw speeches from respected venues like the National Press Club, the Chautauqua Institution, the Aspen Institute and other prestigious institutions across the country. Host Melinda Penkava, a 15-year veteran of public radio, provides the crucial background information and context. Then we open up the microphone and give our influential speakers the time they need to make a nuanced argument."

Vocabulary Word of the Week - Plenary ( a term that is used for some programs at the CU Conference on World Affairs (starting on Monday, April 7)
plenary \PLEE-nuh-ree; PLEN-uh-ree\, adjective:
1. Full in all respects; complete; absolute; as, plenary authority.
2. Fully attended by all qualified members.

Judges like to quote a 1936 Supreme Court opinion that spoke of "the very delicate, plenary and exclusive power of the President as the sole organ of the Federal Government in the field of international relations."
-- "Like Interpreting the Dreams of Pharaoh", New York Times, November 6, 1988

Tito called a plenary session of the Central Committee.
-- Milovan Djilas, Fall of the New Class

Plenary comes from Late Latin plenarius, from Latin plenus, "full." It is related to plenty.

Cooking and Dining Report:
Saturday night, Jack and I checked out the Empire Lounge in Louisville. I did mention last week that Rita had been there and really enjoyed it. We loved it - such a great, casual atmosphere - very retro!
We shared the polenta crusted onion rings with chipotle dipping sauce and a caesar salad - both were terrific. Jack had Bucatini with a Veal, Pork and Lamb Ragu and I had the Short Ribs in a Red Wine Reduction with Grated Horseradish - mine was so flavorful! The dessert menu looked amazing but we restrained ourselves. They do have a Happy Hour which starts at 4 and the first Wednesday of every month, select bottles of wine are half-priced. It would be fun to check that out.

Tonight we had an "adult" version of chicken tenders - from Fine Cooking, Crisp and Spicy Chicken Tenders with Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce. A great casual Sunday night meal. I served them with raw carrots and sugar snap peas, along with an iceberg lettuce wedge salad. The dipping sauce served as the salad dressing. http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/crisp-buffalo-chicken-tenders-blue-cheese.aspx?LangType=1033&ac=fp

Well, that's it for this week. I do have some great looking recipes to try this week and will report on them next Sunday from Los Angeles. I'm heading out on Saturday the 12th and will be back on Sunday the 20th - a nice long visit with Jexy, Joe and Jacob. I will be bringing my computer and will able to stay in touch.

Have a great week!

Love,
Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - March 30, 2008

2008-03-30T17:59:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

Wow - woke up this morning to snow after a warm and sunny Saturday - nothing like Colorado weather! Christie, Jan, Andrea, Laila and I had a lovely walk yesterday out in Louisville and then Mary met us for coffee at the Dragonfly Cafe.

Book Report:
Mary just read the latest Louis Lamour book, Grub Line Rider -

Book Description
The fury of the Wild West explodes in this thrilling dramatization of the Louis L'Amour classic Grub Line Rider. Most folks would call Kim Sartain an easygoing, peace-loving man. But the few who crossed the young drifter knew there was nothing he liked better than a good fight. When cattleman Jim Targ challenges Sartain's right to ride across an unclaimed stretch of meadow, Sartain decides he'll do better than ride through: He'll put down stakes there and homestead the land. Soon there's more at risk than land and pride when Targ hires a gunman to teach Sartain a permanent--and deadly--lesson

Jan has a DVD documentary to recommend - In The Shadow of the Moon - this is a documentary about the Apollo program - sounds fascinating.

Website of the Week: http://www.oculture.com/2006/10/audio_book_podc.html - free books to download in podcast form

Podcast of the Week: http://www.chow.com/stories/92/category - these are podcasts from one of my new favorite tv shows - Top Chef - in the interest of full disclosure, I haven't listened to them yet but perhaps we can discover them togtether.

Vocabulary Word of the Week: from the CU Conference on World Affairs catalog (don' forget, the Conference runs from April 7 - 11 - www.colorado.edu/cwa - Barb is going to be moderating a session on Tuesday, April 8 from 2 - 3:20 PM - Politcal Change: Buzzword vs. Reality) - the word is Prosopography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In historical studies, prosopography is an investigation of the common background characteristics of a historical group, whose individual biographies may be largely untraceable, by means of a collective study of their lives. Prosopography is an increasingly important approach within historical research. Prosopographical research has the aim of learning about patterns of relationships and activities through the study of collective biography, and proceeds by collecting and analysing statistically relevant quantities of biographical data about a well-defined group of individuals. A uniform set of criteria needs to be applied to the group in order to achieve meaningful results. The term is a popular one, and the concept is easily inflated.

Cass invented a new word which we'd like to share with you - shalidity - refers to the state of thinking in a shallow manner

Cooking and Dining Report:

A restaurant review from Rita - she and a friend really enjoyed their meal at the Empire Restaurant in Louisville - definitely want to check this one out. It occupies the space formerly known as Collaci's - http://www.theempirerestaurant.com/.
Rita had the pork chops and her friend had the short ribs - the menu looks great!

Two big cooking nights here this week:

Monday night was book group and in keeping with the theme of Geraldine Brooks new novel, People of the Book, I put together an abbreviated, "mock" seder (thanks for idea, Janet!). Here's the menu with most of the recipes from Fine Cooking Magazine:

Haroset - the traditional mixture of honey, nuts and apples - http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/apple-almond-haroset.aspx - I used walnuts instead of almonds

Hummus - http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/hummus-mellow-garlic-cumin.aspx?ac=fp

Olive tapenade - from Whole Foods - these first three items were served, of course, with matzo and carrots, celery and cucumbers

Mediterranean-style Brisket - http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/mediterranean-style-brisket.aspx?refer=96302 - a bit labor intensive but well worth the advance prep - great to make a day or so ahead - then just re-heat when ready to serve.

Potato, Thyme, Olive Oil Gratin - http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/potato-thyme-olive-oil-gratin.aspx?refer=96302&ac=fp - helpful to have a mandoline to get the very thin potato slices

Roasted Brussel Sprouts (this is from Ina Garten) - http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_21617,00.html - I used garlic pepper instead of plain pepper - very yummy!

Flourless Chocolate and Vanilla Marble Cake - http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/flourless-chocolate-vanilla-marble-cake.aspx - oh my! This was divine - especially with a dollop of whipped cream and chocolate shavings on top - also perfect to make ahead and even store in the freezer.

Saturday night we had a lovely meal with our friend, Dave - here's the menu:

Hummus (kept well from earlier in the week) and a fresh supply of tapenade with crostinis

A hunk of Parmigianno Reggiano served with honey, walnuts and grapes

Boston (Bibb) Lettuce Salad with Toasted Pine Nuts, red Belgian Endive and Deep-fried Capers - this was inspired by the Simple Salad on the menu at Brasserie TenTen - what fun making those capers - I had to get salt-packed capers which Whole Foods doesn't carry but they had them at Peppercorn. The ones I usually get are packed in a salt and vinegar brine. Here's the recipe for the capers - http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/107814 - they really do make a delightful garnish for a salad. I just made a quick Dijon Mustard Vinaigrette for this salad.

Chicken Saltimbocca - a recipe that I shared a few weeks ago - definitely worth repeating - from Cooks Illustrated - http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipe.asp?recipeids=4862#topOfPage

Basic Risotto - also from Cooks Illustrated - http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipe.asp?recipeids=331 - this turned out well but it does require a lot of attention and patience - don't think I'll do this very often.

Roasted Haricots Vert - got a bit overdone - those "skinny" little grean beans don't take very long!

Glacier (our local ice cream shop) Vanilla Bean Ice Cream with Balsamic Strawberries - an easy and very elegant dessert - I served them with thin waffle butter cookies on the side - http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_15207,00.html

An Entertaining Tip - when you're planning a pretty complicated meal, keep the appetizers simple - you don't need to make everything from scratch!

A brunch recipe from Jan - absolutely delicious - Golden Corncakes with Bacon and Goat Cheese http://www.capriolegoatcheese.com/RecipesChild.aspx?RecipeID=19

Whew - that's enough for now! I'm not cooking dinner tonight!

Have a great week!

Love,

Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - March 23, 2008

2008-03-30T17:55:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

Happy Spring! There were only 3 of us walking yesterday - Jan, Laila and me - Mary met us for coffee later. Lots of people away for the weekend. We walked out on the South Boulder Creek Trail from the East Boulder Rec Center - brought back memories of training days!

Jackie sent an email out a couple of weeks ago letting some of us know about an upcoming event, Earth Hour 2008 that would be great and easy for all of us to participate in. Here's her message:

"Created to take a stand against the greatest threat our planet has ever faced, Earth Hour uses the simple action of turning off the lights for one hour to deliver a powerful message about the need for action on global warming.
This simple act has captured the hearts and minds of people all over the world. As a result, at 8pm March 29, 2008 millions of people in some of the world’s major capital cities, including Copenhagen, Toronto, Chicago, Melbourne, Brisbane and Tel Aviv will unite and switch off for Earth Hour.
It started with a question: How can we inspire people to take action on climate change?
The answer: Ask the people of Sydney to turn off their lights for one hour.
On 31 March 2007, 2.2 million people and 2100 Sydney businesses turned off their lights for one hour – Earth Hour. This massive collective effort reduced Sydney’s energy consumption by 10.2% for one hour, which is the equivalent effect of taking 48,000 cars off the road for a year.
With Sydney icons like the Harbour Bridge and Opera House turning their lights off, and unique events such as weddings by candlelight, the world took notice. Inspired by the collective effort of millions of Sydneysiders, many major global cities are joining Earth Hour in 2008, turning a symbolic event into a global movement.
To support this event visit www.earthhour.org and sign up as an individual or a business and turn off your lights on the 29th of March. (text taken from the earthhour.org website)"

Book Report:

Mary read The Cat Who Talked Turkey by Lillian Jackson Braun. This is one of a series of books that Mary has enjoyed reading.

From Publishers Weekly
Like other recent books in Braun's best-selling series that began with The Cat Who Could Read Backwards (1966), this loosely plotted novel, the 26th to feature Siamese cats Koko and Yum Yum and Moose County journalist Jim Qwilleran, isn't quite up to the standard of earlier entries, but it still provides plenty of escapist fun. The shooting death of a well-dressed gentleman in the woods on Qwill's property is nearly neglected in the fuss and excitement engendered by the neighboring town of Brrr's bicentennial. On the trail of a story for the celebration, Qwill interviews Edythe Carroll, a wealthy widow who has retired to Ittibittiwassee Estates from the magnificent mansion she plans to leave to her granddaughter, Lish (short for Alicia). Little does Edythe know that Lish and her boyfriend, Lush, have already trashed the place. After dozing off in his gazebo after a busy day, Qwill is startled awake by strange noises, including some coming from Koko. Enter an entire family of wild turkeys. If this all sounds like a bit of a ramble, it's quite in keeping with the story, which wanders pleasantly around Moose County, surveying its eccentric citizens as they go about their idiosyncratic business. In spite of two murders and a pair of villains, the tale is as cozy as an hour spent cuddling your favorite cat.

I recently started The Small Island by Andrea Levy. Rae recommended this several months ago and I have just gotten down to that in my stack. I'll let you know when I've finished it.

Laila, Janet, Chris, Gaye and I are all working our way through Eckhard Tolle's book, A New Earth. I am finding that the Oprah webcasts are very helpful and keep me engaged in the book. I haven't been able to watch these webcasts live but am able to download the podcasts. Anyone else reading this?

Website of the Week - suggested by Jan who got to hear Mia Farrow speak in Denver this past week. She was very impressed with her and thought we might be interested in her website - www.miafarrow.org - which offers humanitarian and advocacy information.

Podcast of the Week - Just The Facts from www.factcheck.org - this is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. They are a nonpartisan,nonprofit "consumer advocate" for voters. They monitor the accuracy of what is said by all the current political players.

Vocabulary Word of the Week - suggested by Jan - vigorish
Vigorish, or simply "the vig", also known as "juice" or "the take", is the amount charged by a bookmaker for his services. In the United States it also means the interest on a shark's loan. The term is Yiddish slang originating from the Russian word for "winnings", vyigrysh. Bookmakers use this concept to make money on their wagers regardless of the outcome. Because of the vigorish concept, bookmakers should not have an interest in either side winning in a given sporting event. They are interested, instead, in getting equal action on each side of the event. In this way, the bookmaker minimizes their risk and always collects a small commission from the vigorish. The bookmaker will normally adjust the odds (or "line") to attract equal action on each side of an event.

The concept is also sometimes referred to as the overround, although this is technically different, being the percentage the event book is above 100% whereas the vigorish is the bookmaker's percentage profit on the total stakes made on the event. For example, 20% overround is vigorish of 16 2/3%. The connecting formulae are V = OR/(1 + OR) and OR = V/(1 - V).

It is simplest to assume that vigorish is factored in proportionally to the true odds, although this need not be the case. Under proportional vigorish, a moneyline odds bet listed at -100 vs -100 without vigorish (fair odds) could become -110 vs -110 with vigorish factored in. Under disproportional vigorish, it could become -120 vs +100.

Common misconceptions about vigorish are that it is paid by only the "loser", only the "winner", or both in all circumstances. A claim on when and to what extent a gambler pays vigorish fees, however, cannot be abstracted from an individual gambler's behavior. A gambler's behavior with respect to different odds on an event must first be defined and only then can a determination be made on how the vigorish affects him when he wins and loses.

Food and Dining Report:

Two winners this week - I may have included one of these before but it is worth repeating!

Memphis Dry Rub Ribs from Dave Lieberman on the Food Network - so easy and delicious - I do serve this with a jarred barbecue sauce. http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_36115,00.html

Buttermilk Baked Chicken from none other than Martha Stewart - I recommend that if you do used chicken breasts that you chop each whole breast in quarters so that you're not dealing with huge hunks. The butcher in the grocery store can do that easily for you.
http://www.pbs.org/everydayfood/recipes/Buttermilk_Baked_Chicken.html

I'm hosting book group tomorrow evening and hope to share some of those recipes with you next week.

Have a great week and don't forget to observe Earth Hour 2008 on Saturday night, March 29!

Love,

Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - March 16, 2008

2008-03-30T17:50:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

Well, yesterday Barb and I both attended the Boulder County Democrats Assembly and Convention. I was a delegate to the assembly, voting in preference polls and electing delegates for local and statewide candidates. I was also an Obama alternate to the convention in the afternoon but unfortunately was not seated. The purpose of the convention was to vote in preference polls and elect delegates for national candidates for U.S. Senate and President. Barb was an alternate to both the assembly and the convention but she was pretty busy working at the event as a volunteer. It was pretty interesting being involved in the political process at this level, even though at times, it was a bit chaotic and disorganized. Not surprisingly, the turnout was more than any other previous year and so many of us were first-time delegates and alternates.

We did miss being with our walking "buddies" - hope you all had a wonderful morning at Waneka Lake in Lafayette!

Book Report:

I finished Street of a Thousand Blossoms by Gail Tsukiyama. In spite of a slow start, I did end up enjoying the book very much. This story spanned the years just before and during the twenty years after World War II in Japan. Tsukiyama provides a revealing glimpse into the culture and traditions of Japan during that time in their history.

From Publishers Weekly
In her ambitious sixth novel (Dreaming Water; The Samurai's Garden), Tsukiyama tackles life in Japan before, during and after WWII. The story follows brothers Hiroshi and Kenji Matsumoto through the devastation of war and the hardships of postwar reconstruction. Orphaned when their parents were killed in a boating accident, the boys are raised by their grandparents in Tokyo. In 1939, Hiroshi is 11 and dreams of becoming a sumo champion, and soon Kenji will discover his own passion, to become a master maker of Noh masks. Their grandparents, Yoshio and Fumiko Wada, are vividly rendered; the war years and early postwar years, centered in their home on the street of the novel's title, are powerfully portrayed. Hiroshi and Kenji reach pinnacles of success in their chosen fields as well as in love, and while Tsukiyama's close attention to historical and geographical detail enriches the narrative, she isn't as successful when describing Hiroshi's wrestling career; the matches all begin to blur together. The lingering effects of war, on the other hand, are clear, and these, combined with a nation's search for pride and hope after surrender comprise the novel's oversized heart. (Sept.)

I am in the midst of listening to an audiobook by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Coming to our Senses. This is his most recent work in the area of stress reduction and mindfullness meditation. His earlier books, Full Catastrophe Living and Wherever You Go, There You Are, inspired me to begin a meditation practice many years ago. Whenever I get off-track with my practice (which does happen!), I find that his guided meditation tapes are so helpful for me in getting back to my practice. I've recently started using those tapes again and I highly recommend them.
From AudioFile
A medical school teacher and expert on mindfulness and stress reduction, Kabat-Zinn reads a touching and coherent abridgment of his superb book. He is eloquent as he bridges the gap between Eastern approaches to mindfulness and the vocabulary of Western psychology. He says the immediacy of our sensations is more important than our thoughts about them, and more important than the past and future. The contexts offered for this advice reveal the author's cultural breadth and generous sensitivity to the bad habits of the Western mind. Without sentimentality or zealotry, the author's gentle voice offers a practical path that will reach around the intellectual obstacles we often put in the way of such guidance.

Website of the Week - http://www.pigtails-and-polkadots.com/index.php - fun gift site, featuring monogramming

Podcast of the Week - To The Best of Our Knowledge - http://wpr.org/book/ - from Wisconsin Public Radio

Vocabulary Word of the Week - mindfulness - from www.mindfulness.com
Mindfulness or being mindful is being aware of your present moment. You are not judging, reflecting or thinking. You are simply observing the moment in which you find yourself. Moments are like a breath. Each breath is replaced by the next breath. You're there with no other purpose than being awake and aware of that moment. As John Kabat Zinn says reflecting on a Japanese mindfulness puzzle: "Wherever you go, there you are."

Cooking and Dining Report:

I tried a few winning recipes this week.

From Giada de Laurentiis, Rib-Eye Steak with Black Olive Vinaigrette (I used a strip steak) - this was terrific!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_116727,00.html

From Epicurious.com, Braised Chicken with Tomatoes and Olives (Poulet Provencal) - yummy!
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/241766

From Cooks Illustrated, a wonderful Lasagna with Herbed Meatballs, Tomato Sauce and Mozzarella. I cheated and used good jarred marinara sauce (we love Rao's). I also served extra sauce on the side. This was the first time I made a lasagna without ricotta cheese - didn't miss it!
The assembled lasagna can be wrapped with plastic and refrigerated overnight or wrapped in plastic and covered with aluminum foil and frozen for up to 1 month. If refrigerated, allow an extra 5 to 10 minutes cooking time.

Herbed Meatballs

1 pound ground beef
2 large eggs , lightly beaten
1/3 cup minced fresh basil leaves , or minced parsley leaves
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese or Pecorino Romano (2 ounces)
1/2 cup plain dried bread crumbs
1 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
olive oil

Simple Tomato Sauce

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium cloves garlic , minced
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons minced fresh basil leaves or minced parsley leaves
Table salt and ground black pepper

Noodles and Cheese

1 tablespoon table salt
1 pound lasagna noodles (18 noodles)
1 pound mozzarella cheese , shredded
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (4 ounces), or grated Pecorino Romano

1. For the meatballs: Mix beef, eggs, basil, cheese, bread crumbs, salt, and pepper in medium bowl until well blended. Heat about 1/4 inch of olive oil in large skillet. Take a handful of meat mixture and working directly over skillet, pinch off pieces no larger than a small grape, and flatten them slightly. Cooking in batches to avoid overcrowding, carefully drop them into hot oil, (see illustration below). Fry turning once, until evenly browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to tranfer meataballs to a paper towel on a platter.
2. For the sauce: Heat oil and garlic in medium saucepan over medium heat. When garlic starts to sizzle, add tomatoes, basil, salt, and pepper to taste. Simmer until sauce thickens slightly, 15 to 20 minutes.
3. Add meatballs to tomato sauce anad heat through for several minutes; adjust seasonings. Keep sauce warm while preparing remaining ingredients. (Sauce can be covered and refrigerated for 2 days; reheat before assembly.)
4. Meanwhile, bring 6 quarts of water to boil in dutch oven. Add salt and at least 18 sheets of lasagna noodles and cook to al dente. Drain and then soak finished noodles in a bowl of ice water for 30 seconds. Drain again and lay the noodles out on kitchen towels for 1 hour.
5. Grease a 13-by-9-inch pan with cooking spray. Smear several tablespoons of tomato sauce (without meatballs) across pan bottom. Line pan with a layer of pasta, making sure that noodles touch but do not overlap. Spread 3/4 cup tomato sauce evenly over pasta. Sprinkle evenly with 2/3 cup mozzarella and 2 1/2 tablespoons Parmesan. Repeat layering of pasta, tomato sauce and meatballs and cheeses four more times. For the sixth and final layer, cover pasta with remaining 1 cup mozzarella and sprinkle with remaining 3 1/2 tablespoons Parmesan. (Assembled lasagna can now be wrapped with plastic and refrigerated overnight or wrapped in plastic and aluminum foil and frozen for up to 1 month.)
6. Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake until cheese on top turns golden brown in spots and sauce is bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes (25 to 35 minutes with chilled lasagna). Remove pan from oven and let lasagna rest 5 minutes. Cut and serve. (To cook frozen lasagna, move the lasagna to the refrigerator at least twelve hours before baking. Allow it to defrost slowly, and then transfer it directly, unwrapped, to a preheated oven.)

Hope you'll try and enjoy these recipes!
Have a wonderful week ahead.....
Love,
Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - March 9, 2008

2008-03-30T17:42:00.000-07:00

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

Saturday Morning Walkers - March 2, 2008

2008-03-30T17:23:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

It sure has been an interesting weather weekend here in Colorado - Saturday was positively balmy at 74 degrees and we woke up this morning to snow!! I haven't ventured out yet but it looks rather heavy and wet. We had a delightful walk yesterday on the South CU campus pedestrian trail. Barb, Mary, Christie, Laila and I walked along a berm for about 2 miles and as is always the case, the views of the foothills from the east side of town were spectacular. Coffee back at Caffe Sole for our monthly planning for March walks - I'm leading on the 8th, Mary on the 15th, Laila on the 22nd and Christie on the 29th.

Book Report:
I wanted to tell you about the wonderful book event that took place at Jacob's (my almost 6 year old grandson) school on Friday - it was Dr. Seuss Day and the whole school participated in activities featuring Dr. Seuss books and characters, including a costume parade. Jacob and his friend Sam went as Thing 1 and Thing 2. Check out the picture of Thing 2 attached above!

Jexy and her book group read a novel based on the life of the mistress of Frank Lloyd Wright - Loving Frank by Nancy Horan. Jex really liked it and found the ending pretty shocking.
From Publishers Weekly
Horan's ambitious first novel is a fictionalization of the life of Mamah Borthwick Cheney, best known as the woman who wrecked Frank Lloyd Wright's first marriage. Despite the title, this is not a romance, but a portrayal of an independent, educated woman at odds with the restrictions of the early 20th century. Frank and Mamah, both married and with children, met when Mamah's husband, Edwin, commissioned Frank to design a house. Their affair became the stuff of headlines when they left their families to live and travel together, going first to Germany, where Mamah found rewarding work doing scholarly translations of Swedish feminist Ellen Key's books. Frank and Mamah eventually settled in Wisconsin, where they were hounded by a scandal-hungry press, with tragic repercussions. Horan puts considerable effort into recreating Frank's vibrant, overwhelming personality, but her primary interest is in Mamah, who pursued her intellectual interests and love for Frank at great personal cost. As is often the case when a life story is novelized, historical fact inconveniently intrudes: Mamah's life is cut short in the most unexpected and violent of ways, leaving the narrative to crawl toward a startlingly quiet conclusion. Nevertheless, this spirited novel brings Mamah the attention she deserves as an intellectual and feminist.

I'm into two books right now - one is the latest novel by Gail Tsukiyama, Street of a Thousand Blossoms - I absolutely adored her first 4 novels, Samurai's Garden, Women of the Silk and The Language of Threads and Night of Many Dreams but not so impressed with Dreaming Water. More to follow once I finish the book.
From Publishers Weekly
In her ambitious sixth novel (Dreaming Water; The Samurai's Garden), Tsukiyama tackles life in Japan before, during and after WWII. The story follows brothers Hiroshi and Kenji Matsumoto through the devastation of war and the hardships of postwar reconstruction. Orphaned when their parents were killed in a boating accident, the boys are raised by their grandparents in Tokyo. In 1939, Hiroshi is 11 and dreams of becoming a sumo champion, and soon Kenji will discover his own passion, to become a master maker of Noh masks. Their grandparents, Yoshio and Fumiko Wada, are vividly rendered; the war years and early postwar years, centered in their home on the street of the novel's title, are powerfully portrayed. Hiroshi and Kenji reach pinnacles of success in their chosen fields as well as in love, and while Tsukiyama's close attention to historical and geographical detail enriches the narrative, she isn't as successful when describing Hiroshi's wrestling career; the matches all begin to blur together. The lingering effects of war, on the other hand, are clear, and these, combined with a nation's search for pride and hope after surrender comprise the novel's oversized heart.

The other book that I just started is the latest Oprah recommendation - A New Earth - Awakening to Your Life's Purpose by Eckhard Tolle - and yes, I along with hundreds of thousands of other people have signed up to participate in the 10 week "webinar" hosted by Oprah and Tolle on her website. It begins tomorrow night (March 3) - I read and listened to Tolle's earlier book, The Power of Now. He is a pretty powerful teacher and spiritual leader who draws from both Eastern and Western traditions. Check out www.oprah.com for more details and to register for the class.
Book Description
The highly anticipated follow-up to the 2,000,000 copy bestselling inspirational book, The Power of Now
With his bestselling spiritual guide The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle inspired millions of readers to discover the freedom and joy of a life lived "in the now." In A New Earth, Tolle expands on these powerful ideas to show how transcending our ego-based state of consciousness is not only essential to personal happiness, but also the key to ending conflict and suffering throughout the world. Tolle describes how our attachment to the ego creates the dysfunction that leads to anger, jealousy, and unhappiness, and shows readers how to awaken to a new state of consciousness and follow the path to a truly fulfilling existence.
The Power of Now was a question-and-answer handbook. A New Earth has been written as a traditional narrative, offering anecdotes and philosophies in a way that is accessible to all. Illuminating, enlightening, and uplifting, A New Earth is a profoundly spiritual manifesto for a better way of life—and for building a better world.

Website of the Week - http://prizey.blogspot.com/ - a fun site that features on-line contests and giveaways. I heard about this on one of my favorite podcasts, Jumping Monkeys - www.jumpingmonkeys.com

Podcast of the Week - http://www.thirteen.org/forum/ - a collection of lectures on culture, art and politics from different venues around New York City.

Vocabulary Word of the Week - panade - this is a food term I just heard on The Splendid Table podcast - www.splendidtable.org - the definition comes from Epicurious Food Dictionary - http://www.epicurious.com/tools/fooddictionary/entry?id=3775
panada; panade
[pah-NAH-duh (Sp , ), puh-NAHD (Fr. , )]
1. A thick paste made by mixing bread crumbs, flour, rice, etc. with water, milk, stock, butter or sometimes egg yolks. It's used to bind meatballs, fish cakes, FORCEMEATS and QUENELLES. 2. A sweet or savory soup made with bread crumbs and various other ingredients. It may be strained before serving.

Movie of the Week - NOT!!! - Jack and I saw the newly released Vantage Point with Dennis Quaid, Forest Whitaker and William Hurt. Yes, the cast was outstanding but the story seemed implausible and the car chase that dominated the last part of the movie was RIDICULOUS!!!

Cooking and Dining Report:
A fun casual dinner last night - Blue Cheese Burgers with Blue Cheese Cole Slaw - both recipes from Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa

Blue Cheese Burgers - http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_37208,00.html - we like to use ciabatta rolls - nice and crusty with light airy bread inside. You can easily leave off the blue cheese if that doesn't appeal.

Blue Cheese Cole Slaw - http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_31646,00.html - an easy shortcut is to buy the package of cole slaw dry ingredients and just make the dressing.

That's all for now - have a wonderful week!

Love,

Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - February 24, 2008

2008-02-24T20:20:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!

I joined Christie, Jan, Barb and Laila for part of their hike on the South Boulder Creek Trail on Saturday morning. I left them part way to head over to my CPR class and they apparently continued on for a great 4 mile hike.

Book Report:

Terri read and enjoyed a book that I had recommended to her - The Mezuzzah in the Madonna's Foot by Trudy Alexy - this is an amazing account of Jews who survived the Nazis and World War II.
Book Description
Acclaimed in the Progressive's "Best Reading of 1993," these thrilling and harrowing firsthand stories of survivors and their rescuers vividly reveal the secret history of the Jews who found asylum from Hitler's Final Solution under Franco's Fascist regime.
Cass told us about a book that she just loved - she read it with her Spanish Book Club and it is due out in the English version in just a few months. The title is La Isla de los Amores Infinitos by Daina Chaviano. Apparently, Amazon is taking advance orders. Unfortunately, the review on Amazon right now is only available in Spanish!

I am on the last few pages of a wonderful new historical novel by Geraldine Brooks - People of the Book. She weaves a fascinating story about the journey throughout history of a precious and sacred Jewish manuscript, the Sarajevo Haggadah. It is both historical fiction and somewhat of a mystery/detective story.
Amazon.com
Amazon Significant Seven, January 2008: One of the earliest Jewish religious volumes to be illuminated with images, the Sarajevo Haggadah survived centuries of purges and wars thanks to people of all faiths who risked their lives to safeguard it. Geraldine Brooks, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of March, has turned the intriguing but sparely detailed history of this precious volume into an emotionally rich, thrilling fictionalization that retraces its turbulent journey. In the hands of Hanna Heath, an impassioned rare-book expert restoring the manuscript in 1996 Sarajevo, it yields clues to its guardians and whereabouts: an insect wing, a wine stain, salt crystals, and a white hair. While readers experience crucial moments in the book's history through a series of fascinating, fleshed-out short stories, Hanna pursues its secrets scientifically, and finds that some interests will still risk everything in the name of protecting this treasure. A complex love story, thrilling mystery, vivid history lesson, and celebration of the enduring power of ideas, People of the Book will surely be hailed as one of the best of 2008. --Mari Malcolm

I am enjoying a new cookbook that I got recently - Alice Waters, of Chez Panisse http://www.chezpanisse.com/ fame, has written a wonderful book called The Art of Simple Food. Waters has been promoting and preparing organic, seasonal and local foods for many years. Chez Panisse is her fabulous restaurant in Berkeley, California. Jack and I were so lucky to have dined there many years ago. The book is a primer on preparing simple, uncomplicated foods, emphasizing the freshest ingredients. It is a perfect gift for both the newest and most experienced home cook. Check out the recipe below that we had last night!
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. The delicious dishes described in the latest cookbook from Chez Panisse founder Waters, such as a four-ingredient Soda Bread and Cauliflower Salad with Olives and Capers, are simple indeed, though the book's structure is complex, if intuitive. After a useful discussion of ingredients and equipment come chapters on techniques, such as making broth and soup. Each of these includes three or four recipes that rely on the technique described, which can lead to repetition (still preferable to a lack of guidance): a chapter on roasting contains two pages of instructions on roasting a chicken (including a hint to salt it a day in advance for juicy results), followed by a recipe for Roast Chicken that is simply an abbreviated version of those two pages. The final third of the book divides many more recipes traditionally into salads, pasta and so forth. Waters taps an almost endless supply of ideas for appealing and fresh yet low-stress dishes: Zucchini Ragout with Bacon and Tomato, Onion Custard Pie, Chocolate Crackle Cookies with almonds and a little brandy. Whether explaining why salting food properly is key or describing the steps to creating the ideal Grilled Cheese Sandwich, she continues to prove herself one of our best modern-day food writers. (Oct.)

Website of the Week: a great used book site - www.alibris.com

Podcast of the Week: The Get it Done Guy - A Quick and Dirty Guide to Work Less and Do More - http://getitdone.quickanddirtytips.com/default.aspx

Vocabulary Word of the Week - Emeritus
Emeritus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Emeritus (pronounced /ɨˈmɛrɨtəs/) is an adjective that is used in the title of a retired professor, bishop or other professional. Emerita (/ɨˈmɛrɨtə/) was used for women, but is rarely used today. The term is used when a person of importance in a given profession retires, so that his or her former rank can still be used in his or her title. This is particularly useful when establishing the authority a person might have to comment, lecture or write on a particular subject.

The word is typically used as a postpositional adjective but can also be used as a preposition adjective. It is frequently capitalized when it forms part of a title. The word originated in the mid-18th century from Latin as the past participle of emereri meaning to "earn one's discharge by service". Emereri itself is a compound of the prefix e- (a variant of ex-) meaning "out of or from" and merēre meaning "earn". The word is always associated with the title, not the name, of a person. For example, "Professor Emeritus of Mathematics Alex Robertson".

Emeritus does not imply that the person must be retired from all duties of his or her previous title.

Cooking and Dining Report:

A lot more cooking has been happening around here this week, now that the cook is healthy again!

From Fine Cooking Magazine, we had Seared Flank Steak with Shallot-Mustard Sauce - a great, quick cooking and tasty dish - http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/flank-steak-shallot-mustard.aspx

Last night we had a great recipe from The Art of Simple Food for Linguine with Clams- her basic recipe is for a white sauce but I tried one of her variations using fennel and tomato sauce - really interesting flavor:

Wash well under cold water, 2 pounds small clams (I used Littleneck)
Heat a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Heat in a heavy-bottomed pan: 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
When hot, add 1 medium fennel bulb, chopped fine. Cook over medium heat until almost soft, about 5 minutes, then add the clams, 5 finely chopped garlic cloves, pinch of dried chile flakes and 1/2 cup tomato sauce (I used marinara sauce). Cover and cook over medium high until the clams open, about 6 or 7 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook 3/4 pound of linguine according to package directions in the boiling salted water.
Once the clams have opened, stir in 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley and 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil.
Drain the noodles well, toss with the clam sauce and more salt, if needed, and serve.

Two other cooking projects today - one is Crisp Roast Chicken prepared according to Cook's Illustrated technique for most crispy chicken. That turned out great - we enjoyed it for dinner tonight.
"For best flavor, use a high-quality chicken, such as one from Bell & Evans. Do not brine the bird; it will prohibit the skin from becoming crisp. The sheet of foil between the roasting pan and V-rack will keep drippings from burning and smoking."

INGREDIENTS

1 whole chicken (3 1/2 to 4 1/2 pounds), giblets removed and discarded
1 tablespoon kosher salt or 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1. Place chicken breast-side down on work surface. Following photos above, use tip of sharp knife to make four 1-inch incisions along back of chicken. Using fingers or handle of wooden spoon, carefully separate skin from thighs and breast. Using metal skewer, poke 15 to 20 holes in fat deposits on top of breast halves and thighs. Tuck wing tips underneath chicken.
2. Combine salt, baking powder, and pepper in small bowl. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and sprinkle all over with salt mixture. Rub in mixture with hands, coating entire surface evenly. Set chicken, breast-side up, in V-rack set on rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate, uncovered, for 12 to 24 hours.
3. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Using paring knife, poke 20 holes about 1 1/2 inches apart in 16- by 12-inch piece of foil. Place foil loosely in large roasting pan. Flip chicken so breast side faces down, and set V-rack in roasting pan on top of foil. Roast chicken 25 minutes.
4. Remove roasting pan from oven. Using 2 large wads of paper towels, rotate chicken breast-side up. Continue to roast until instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of breast registers 135 degrees, 15 to 25 minutes.
5. Increase oven temperature to 500 degrees. Continue to roast until skin is golden brown, crisp, and instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of breast registers 160 degrees and 175 degrees in thickest part of thigh, 10 to 20 minutes.
6. Transfer chicken to cutting board and let rest, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Carve and serve immediately.

The other cooking project is in the oven right now and will be our dinner tomorrow night - it looks and smells promising! From Fine Cooking Magazine, Slow-Cooked Pot Roast with Mustard and Horseradish Gravy. I am not preparing it in a slow cooker but rather in a dutch oven in a very slow oven. http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/slow-cooked-pot-roast-mustard-horseradish-gravy.aspx
Well, that's all for now - have a terrific week!

Love,
Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - February 20, 2008

2008-02-24T20:16:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!

Sorry for the delayed and abbreviated edition - I've been sick for the last several days but finally feeling better. I did get to our Saturday morning walk and coffee but that was the last time I ventured out of the house until this morning. We walked around North Boulder and ended up at Breadworks for coffee.

Book Report:

Barb and her book group read The Tender Bar, a memoir by J.R. Moehringer, a Pulitzer Prize winning writer for the Los Angeles Times
Amazon.com
"Long before it legally served me, the bar saved me," asserts J.R. Moehringer, and his compelling memoir The Tender Bar is the story of how and why. A Pulitzer-Prize winning writer for the Los Angeles Times, Moehringer grew up fatherless in pub-heavy Manhasset, New York, in a ramshackle house crammed with cousins and ruled by an eccentric, unkind grandfather. Desperate for a paternal figure, he turns first to his father, a DJ whom he can only access via the radio (Moehringer calls him The Voice and pictures him as "talking smoke"). When The Voice suddenly disappears from the airwaves, Moehringer turns to his hairless Uncle Charlie, and subsequently, Uncle Charlie's place of employment--a bar called Dickens that soon takes center stage. While Moehringer may occasionally resort to an overwrought metaphor (the footsteps of his family sound like "storm troopers on stilts"), his writing moves at a quick clip and his tale of a dysfunctional but tightly knit community is warmly told. "While I fear that we're drawn to what abandons us, and to what seems most likely to abandon us, in the end I believe we're defined by what embraces us," Moehringer says, and his story makes us believe it. --

Laila continues exploring Indian writers with The Twentieth Wife by Indu SundaresanAmazon.com
In The Twentieth Wife, first-time novelist Indu Sundaresan introduces readers to life inside a bejeweled, dazzling birdcage--the world of the Mughal Court's zenana, or imperial harem. Her heroine exercises power in the only way available to a woman in 17th-century India: from behind the veil. At the age of 8, Mehrunissa (the name means "Sun of Women") has already settled on her life's goal. After just one glimpse of his face, she wants to marry the Crown Prince Salim. And marry him she does, albeit some 26 years later, after overcoming the opposition of her family, an ill-starred early marriage, numerous miscarriages, and the scheming of other wives. The story's gothic trappings have a basis in fact. As Sundaresan writes in her afterword, the historical Mehrunissa exercised far more power than was usually allotted to an empress, issuing coins in her own name, giving orders, trading, owning property, and patronizing the arts. (Curiously, the book ends just as Mehrunissa is ascending to the throne as empress, dwelling on her years of powerlessness and struggle rather than those of her enormous political influence.) Although the empress was fabled in her time, we know next to nothing about the woman herself. Unfortunately, Sundaresan does little to flesh out this intriguing figure. Despite the vivid historical detail, the reader remains more aware of the author's presence--and her own contemporary take on women's issues--than of her characters' inner lives

Jan recommends a DVD called Yesterday.
Product Description
Yesterday- A spirited and happy young mother living in a remote village in South Africa's Zululand - doesn't have an easy life. A heart-breaking film

Website and Podcast of the Week - www.nextbook.org - Nextbook is a Jewish cultural organization that produces an online magazine, a book series and cultural events. I don't think you have to be Jewish to appreciate some of their offerings. Check it out.

Vocabulary Word of the Week - catachresis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Catachresis (from Greek κατάχρησις), which literally means the incorrect or improper use of a word -- such as using the word decimate (e.g., "they were severely decimated") mistakenly for devastated -- is a term used to denote the (usually intentional) use of any figure of speech that flagrantly violates the norms of a language community. Compare malapropism.

Catachresis is often used to convey extreme emotion or alienation, and is prominent in baroque literature and, more recently, in the avant-garde.

Cooking and Dining Report - nothing from our house this week but Jexy made a very successful dinner on their weekend away in the mountains of California.

From Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa, she made Linguine with Shrimp Scampi - http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_32175,00.html

She served it with Arugula with Parmesan - http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_32175,00.html - both of these recipes are from the Barefoot Contessa Family Style Cookbook.

An upcoming event to mark on your calendar:

The 60th Annual Conference on World Affairs is scheduled for April 7 through April 11. This is a world-renowned event hosted each year by the University of Colorado. "The Conference on World Affairs was founded in 1948, originally as a forum on international affairs. CWA expanded rapidly to encompass the arts, media, science, diplomacy, technology, environment, spirituality, politics, business, medicine, human rights, and so on. Roger Ebert, who holds a record of thirty-seven consecutive years of participation in the CWA, refers to the event as “the Conference on Everything Conceivable.” Every seminar and event is absolutely free - check out the schedule and list of participants! http://www.colorado.edu/cwa/information.html

I hope that all of you stay well - enjoy the rest of the week!

Love,

Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - February 11, 2008

2008-02-24T20:10:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!

Actually starting to write this edition on Sunday morning, February 10 sitting in Libby and David's gorgeous new apartment in Brooklyn. The floor to ceiling windows in the living room/dining room/kitchen area have an incredible view across the East River of the New York skyline, featuring the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building.

I arrived here on Friday morning following my first experience on a “red-eye” from Denver to New York. Jack had been in New York all week on business and I was meeting him here. In between naps on Friday, David and I went to lunch at a funky little place here in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, The Egg. I had a yummy grilled cheese sandwich on 5 grain bread (healthy, huh?) and David had a amazing looking cheeseburger. Here’s a review - http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/egg/

When Jack arrived at the apartment at the end of the day, we headed out for dinner at a tiny little French bistro in Long Island City which is just minutes away in Queens. I had heard about Tournesol after listening to the audiobook memoir,Julie and Julia by Julie Powell. In an interview, Julie Powell, who lives in Long Island City, was asked about her favorite restaurant and she talked about Tournesol. I mentioned that to Libby and it turns out that it is one of David’s favorite spots. We were not disappointed! Libby had skate with cauliflower gratin, David had braised lamb with ratatouille, Jack had steak frite with béarnaise and I had flounder with ratatouille. Check out this review - http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/tournesol/

Saturday morning, we were up early and out for a walk to the dog park with Violet, Libby and David’s Black Russian Terrier. We had a wonderful waffle breakfast back at the house and then headed out for a ride around Brooklyn so I could see the apartment building and neighborhood, Flatbush, that my aunt and uncle lived in when I was a kid. Our family has strong roots in Brooklyn and I spent a lot of time there when I was growing up on Long Island. It was a nostalgic tour for me. We had intended to visit the Brooklyn Museum (the 2nd largest museum in NYC) but got sidetracked when we ventured into the aircraft museum at Floyd Bennett Field. It turned out to be a fascinating personal tour of this hangar filled with restored aircraft led by a very sweet volunteer, Tony.

The highlight of the afternoon was pizza at a little joint called Di Fara Pizza on Avenue J in the Midwood section of Brooklyn - Mandy's dad, Martin went to Midwood High School. Dominic DeMarco has been making every pizza there for the last 40 years, always assisted by a family member. Check out the review: http://newyork.citysearch.com/profile/7381047/

We had big plans for Saturday night - a before theatre dinner at a wonderful seafood restaurant on West 43rd and Ninth Avenue called Esca. It was a delicious meal and the service was impeccable. We even got to chat with Chef David Pasternack. http://www.esca-nyc.com/.
Following dinner, we enjoyed a terrific play at the Music Box Theatre on 45th Street. It was The Farnsworth Invention starring Hank Azaria. This play by West Wing's creator, Aaron Sorkin, deals with the invention of television and the conflict between RCA founder David Sarnoff and inventor Filo T. Farnsworth. The actor who played Farnsworth, Jimmi Simpson, was outstanding.

When I left off writing on Sunday morning (I'm now back home on Monday night and trying to catch up!), we were getting ready to head out for brunch at the same restaurant that David and I had lunch in on Friday, The Egg. Great breakfast, especially the cheese grits and homemade sausage. Jack had oatmeal which was filled with pears, raisins and figs - looked yummy!

We'll skip the book reports and other cooking reports for this week - I have started Geraldine Brooks new novel, People of the Book and am already hooked. More later.....

Website of the Week - http://www.fictionnationonline.com/ - book review site

Podcast of the Week - http://www.dongenova.com/shows_podcast.html - All You Can Eat podcast - about food and wine

That's all for now.....

Love,

Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - February 3, 2008

2008-02-24T20:06:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!

As I write this today, Jack and I are watching Michelle Obama, Caroline Kennedy and Oprah Winfrey and yes, Maria Shriver (pretty gutsy!) speak at the rally for Barack Obama at UCLA. It is so energizing and motivating - I just want to remind all of you who have the opportunity to vote on Tuesday in a primary or a caucus to please do that and become a part of this historic election.

Yesterday, Mary led us on our "first Saturday of the month" walk and meeting at Caffe Sole. Mary, Christie, Andrea and I missed the rest of you but we had a lovely walk and talk.

Book Report:

I finished two books that have been mentioned on the blog before but they are definintely worth repeating.

Jenn shared with me a wonderful coming-of-age novel by Jim Lynch, The Highest Tide.

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. The fertile strangeness of marine tidal life becomes a subtly executed metaphor for the bewilderments of adolescence in this tender and authentic coming-of-age novel, Lynch's first. As a precocious, undersized 13-year-old living on the shore of Puget Sound, in Washington State, Miles O'Malley has developed a consuming passion for the abundant life of the tidal flats. His simple pleasure in observing is tested and complicated over the course of a remarkable summer, when he finds a giant squid, a discovery that brings him the unwelcome attention of scientists, TV reporters and a local cult. Meanwhile, Miles's remote parents are considering a divorce; his best friend, Florence, an elderly retired psychic, is dying of a degenerative disease; his sex-obsessed buddy, Phelps, mocks his science-geek knowledge; and his desperate crush on Angie Stegner, the troubled girl next door, both inspires and humiliates him. Events build toward the date of a record high tide, and Miles slowly sorts out his place in the adult world. While occasionally Lynch packs too much into a small story, this moving, unusual take on the summers of childhood conveys a contagious sense of wonder at the variety and mystery of the natural world.

I listened to an audio version of the memoir Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet. This was a recommendation from Jeff who had seen a show on the Discovery Channel which featured Tammet, called Brainman.
Tammet is one of only a handful of autistic savants and this is a unique opportunity to learn about this phenomenon from his own perspective.
From Audible.com
One of the world's 50 living autistic savants is the first and only to tell his compelling and inspiring life story and explain how his incredible mind works.
Worldwide, there are fewer than 50 living savants, those autistic individuals who can perform miraculous mental calculations or artistic feats. (Think Dustin Hoffman's character in Rain Man.) Until now, none of them has been able to discuss his or her thought processes, much less write a book. Daniel Tammet is the first.

Tammet's problems were apparent from childhood. He was shunned by his classmates and often resorted to rocking and humming quietly. Yet he could memorize almost anything, and his math and language skills were astonishing. By high school, Daniel was diagnosed as autistic, and he began to discover his own superhuman abilities: calculating huge sums in his head in seconds, learning new languages in one week, and memorizing more than 22,000 digits of pi.

With heart-melting simplicity and astonishing self-awareness, Born on a Blue Day tells Daniel's story: from his childhood frustrations to adult triumphs, while explaining how his mind works. He thinks in pictures. He sees numbers as complex shapes: 37 is lumpy like porridge; 89 reminds him of falling snow. Today, Daniel has emerged as one of the world's most fascinating minds and inspiring stories. His brain has amazed scientists for years, and everyone will be moved by his remarkable life story.

Website of the Week: www.savethechildren.org - check out their great campaign for Valentines Day to raise money to end poverty among children - kids can make small donations and send valentines.

Podcast of the Week: http://www.cspan.org/podcast/ - many of our favorite shows from TV's C-span, including Booknotes and Road to the White House.

Vocabulary Word of the Week - savant
sa·vant (s-vänt)
n.
1. A learned person; a scholar.
2. An idiot savant.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[French, learned, savant, from Old French, present participle of savoir, to know, from Vulgar Latin sapre, from Latin sapere, to be wise; see sep- in Indo-European roots.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

Cooking and Dining Report:

I've got some great recipes to share - this week was Jack's birthday and I enjoyed preparing this dinner - all the recipes are from Fine Cooking Magazine:

Arugula Salad with Blood Oranges, Fennel & Ricotta Salata - http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/arugula-salad-blood-oranges.aspx?LangType=1033&ac=fp

Steak au Poivre - http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/steak_au_poivre.aspx

Creamy Mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes - http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/creamy_mashed_potatoes.aspx

Chocolate-Espresso Mini Souffles - http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/chocolate-espresso-mini-souffles.aspx?LangType=1033&ac=fp - important note - there is an error in the list of ingredients - it should be two eggs separated, not one.

One other "keeper" of a recipe is Bucatini in a Spicy Tomato Sauce with Crisped Pancetta - also from Fine Cooking. I couldn't find bucatini but spaghetti worked just fine. http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/bucatini-spicy-tomato-sauce-crisped-pancetta.aspx

That's all for now - once again, don't forget to vote this Tuesday if your state is part of Super Tuesday.

Love,

Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - January 27, 2008

2008-02-24T19:59:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!

Some of the walkers - Mary, Barb, Andrea and Laila (hope I haven't left anyone out) - walked out in Lafayette on Saturday and met up with Chris at Cino's Cafe. I am sorry I missed being with all of you but I did have a wonderful day at the Tattered Cover Writers Respond to Readers event. I was happy to have met up with Lynda Parker, an old friend of Chris', and a few of her friends. They graciously invited me to have lunch with them which was just lovely.

Book Report: I'd like to tell you a little bit about each of the writers that participated in the event. I wasn't familiar with any of them and hadn't read even one of their books prior to the event. I generally do try to read at least one of the books but it really doesn't take away from the enjoyment of the presentations if you haven't gotten to do that. This was an eclectic collection of four bright, witty and entertaining young women who shared their personal stories, their writing process and readings from their books.

Tahmima Anam is a first-time novelist who was born in Bangladesh. Her novel, The Golden Age, portrays a family in East Pakistan caught up in the Liberation War of 1971 fighting for their freedom to become Bangladesh. This is the first novel in what will become a trilogy following this family prior to the war, during the conflict and finally in contemporary Bangladesh.
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. The experiences of a woman drawn into the 1971 Bangladesh war for independence illuminate the conflict's wider resonances in Anam's impressive debut, the first installment in a proposed trilogy. Rehana Haque is a widow and university student in Dhaka with two children, 17-year-old daughter Maya and 19-year-old son Soheil. As she follows the daily patterns of domesticity—cooking, visiting the cemetery, marking religious holidays—she is only dimly aware of the growing political unrest until Pakistani tanks arrive and the fighting begins. Suddenly, Rehana's family is in peril and her children become involved in the rebellion. The elegantly understated restraint with which Anam recounts ensuing events gives credibility to Rehana's evolution from a devoted mother to a woman who allows her son's guerrilla comrades to bury guns in her backyard and who shelters a Bengali army major after he is wounded. The reader takes the emotional journey from atmospheric scenes of the marketplace to the mayhem of invasion, the ruin of the city, evidence of the rape and torture of Hindus and Bengali nationalists, and the stench and squalor of a refugee camp. Rehana's metamorphosis encapsulates her country's tragedy and makes for an immersive, wrenching narrative

Samantha Hunt has written a novel based on the life of scientist and inventor, Nikola Tesla - The Invention of Everything Else. She did impeccable research into the entire life and work of Tesla, but the focus of the novel is on the later years of his life spent living in the classic Hotel New Yorker in New York City.
Book Description
A wondrous imagining of an unlikely friendship between the eccentric inventor Nikola Tesla and a young chambermaid in the Hotel New Yorker where Tesla lives out his last days From the moment she first catches sight of the Hotel New Yorkers most famous resident on New Years Day 1943, Louisa -- obsessed with radio dramas and the secret lives of the guests -- is determined to befriend this strange man. As Louisa discovers their shared affinity for pigeons, she also begins to piece together Teslas extraordinary story of life as an immigrant, a genius, and a halfhearted capitalist. Meanwhile, Louisa-faced with her fathers imminent departure in a time machine to reunite with his late wife, and pleasantly unsettled by the arrival in her life of a mysterious mechanic (perhaps from the future) named Arthur -- begins to suspect that she has understood something about the relationship of love and invention that Tesla, for all his brilliance, never did. The Invention of Everything Else luminously resurrects one of the greatest scientists of all time, Nikola Tesla, while magically transporting us -- la Steven Millhauser and Michael Chabon -- to an early twentieth-century New York City thrumming with energy, wonder, and possibility.

Min Jin Lee was born in Korea and immigrated with her family to Queens, New York when she was 7 years old. Her first novel, Free Food for Millionaires, features characters based on her experiences growing up in New York.
From Publishers Weekly
In her noteworthy debut, Lee filters through a lively postfeminist perspective a tale of first-generation immigrants stuck between stodgy parents and the hip new world. Lee's heroine, 22-year-old Casey Han, graduates magna cum laude in economics from Princeton with a taste for expensive clothes and an "enviable golf handicap," but hasn't found a "real" job yet, so her father kicks her out of his house. She heads to her white boyfriend's apartment only to find him in bed with two sorority girls. Next stop: running up her credit card at the Carlyle Hotel in New York City. Casey's luck turns after a chance encounter with Ella Shim, an old acquaintance. Ella gives Casey a place to stay, while Ella's fiancé gets Casey a "low pay, high abuse" job at his investment firm and Ella's cousin Unu becomes Casey's new romance. Lee creates a large canvas, following Casey as she shifts between jobs, careers, friends, mentors and lovers; Ella and Ted as they hit a blazingly rocky patch; and Casey's mother, Leah, as she belatedly discovers her own talents and desires. Though a first-novel timidity sometimes weakens the narrative, Lee's take on contemporary intergenerational cultural friction is wide-ranging, sympathetic and well worth reading

Heidi Julavits is a journalist, author and founding editor of The Believer Magazine, a literary journal. She has written three novels, the latest of which is The Uses of Enchantment. I have to admit that I did start listening to this book on my Ipod but lost interest part way through. After hearing Heidi yesterday, I am now interested in picking it up again.
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. On November 7, 1985, Mary Veal, 16, a not especially distinguished upper-middle-class girl, disappears from New England's Semmering Academy. A month later she reappears at Semmering, claiming amnesia, but hinting at abduction and ravishment. The events in Believer editor Julavits's third, beautifully executed novel take place on three levels: one, dedicated to "what might have happened," is the story of the supposedly blank interval; another is dedicated to the inevitable therapeutic aftermath, as Mary's therapist, Dr. Hammer, tries to discover whether Mary is lying, either about the abduction or the amnesia; and the present of the novel, which revolves around the funeral of Mary's mother, Paula, in 1999. There, Mary feels not only the hostility of her sisters, Regina (an unsuccessful poet) and Gaby (a disheveled lesbian) but Paula's posthumous hostility. Or is that an illusion? This structure delicately balances between gothic and comic, allowing Julavits to play variations on Mary's life and on the '80s moral panic of repressed memory syndromes and wild fears of child abuse. While Julavits (The Effect of Living Backwards) sometimes lets an overheated style distract from her central story, as its various layers coalesce, the mystery of what did happen to Mary Veal will enthrall the reader to the very last page.

Website of the Week: http://www.depthperception.org/ - when we were having lunch yesterday, we talked about forming women's groups. Lynda told us about friends of hers who have developed a format for facilitating a women's group (could be a men's group also). Check out this website for more details on what they are doing.

Podcast of the Week: http://legallad.quickanddirtytips.com/ - part of the Quick and Dirty Tips series - short, succinct podcast answering common legal questions.

Vocabulary Word of the Week - diatribe
Pronunciation: diatribe

\ˈdī-ə-ˌtrīb\
Function:
noun
Etymology:
Latin diatriba, from Greek diatribē pastime, discourse, from diatribein to spend (time), wear away, from dia- + tribein to rub — more at throw
Date:
1581
1archaic : a prolonged discourse2: a bitter and abusive speech or writing3: ironic or satirical criticis

Cooking and Dining Report:

Not much cooking going on here this week but here's the recipe I'm using tonight for Linguine with Clam Sauce from Fine Cooking Magazine:

Serves two to three.
ingredients
24 littleneck clams
6 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/3 cup dry white wine
5 Tbs. finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus a few whole leaves for garnish
3 large cloves garlic, minced
Kosher salt
8 oz. linguine or spaghettini (I like De Cecco, Due Pastori, and Rustichella d’Abruzzo brands)
Freshly ground black pepper

how to make
Scrub the clams under cold water and set aside. In a heavy 3-qt. saucepan, heat 3 Tbs. of the oil over medium heat. Add the pepper flakes and cook briefly to infuse the oil, about 20 seconds. Immediately add the wine, 2 Tbs. of the chopped parsley, and half of the minced garlic. Cook for 20 seconds and add the clams.

Cover and cook over medium-high heat, checking every 2 minutes and removing each clam as it opens. It will take 5 to 6 minutes total for all the clams to open. Transfer the clams to a cutting board and reserve the broth. Remove the clams from the shells and cut them in half, or quarters if they’re large. Return the clams to the broth. Discard the shells.

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until it’s almost al dente, 6 to 9 minutes. Don’t overcook.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the remaining 3 Tbs. olive oil in a 10- or 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the remaining 3 Tbs. chopped parsley and the rest of the garlic and cook until the garlic is just soft, about 1 minute. Set the skillet aside.

When the pasta is done, reserve about 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water and then drain the pasta. Add the pasta, the clams, and the broth the clams were cooked in to the skillet. Return to low heat, toss the pasta in the sauce, and simmer for another minute to finish cooking it, adding a little of the pasta water if you prefer a wetter dish.

Taste for salt and add a large grind of black pepper. Serve immediately, garnished with the parsley leaves.

From Fine Cooking 88, pp. 69

Have a great week ahead!

Love,
Susan

Saturday Morning Walkers - January 20, 2008

2008-01-24T07:07:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

It was my turn to lead our walk this morning but due to the freezing temperatures and icy sidewalks, I made the executive decision for us to have a nice leisurely breakfast at Maries instead of walking. Jan, Barb, Mary, Christie, Laila and I stayed warm, cozy and well-fed.

Book Report:

Jeff told us about a book that he just read and really liked - Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet - Here's what Jeff had to say, "Tammet is an autistic savant with Asperger's syndrome who was featured on a Discovery Channel program called "Brainman". Anyhow it is his autobiography and is fascinating. It looks at how he struggled growing up and how his condition affects how he sees the world. I could not put it down and finished the relatively short book within two days. Check it out."

From Publishers Weekly
This unique first-person account offers a window into the mind of a high-functioning, 27-year-old British autistic savant with Asperger's syndrome. Tammet's ability to think abstractly, deviate from routine, and empathize, interact and communicate with others is impaired, yet he's capable of incredible feats of memorization and mental calculation. Besides being able to effortlessly multiply and divide huge sums in his head with the speed and accuracy of a computer, Tammet, the subject of the 2005 documentary Brainman, learned Icelandic in a single week and recited the number pi up to the 22,514th digit, breaking the European record. He also experiences synesthesia, an unusual neurological syndrome that enables him to experience numbers and words as "shapes, colors, textures and motions." Tammet traces his life from a frustrating, withdrawn childhood and adolescence to his adult achievements, which include teaching in Lithuania, achieving financial independence with an educational Web site and sustaining a long-term romantic relationship. As one of only about 50 people living today with synesthesia and autism, Tammet's condition is intriguing to researchers; his ability to express himself clearly and with a surprisingly engaging tone (given his symptoms) makes for an account that will intrigue others as well.

Barb's book group is reading The Tender Bar, a memoir by J.R. Moehringer
Amazon.com
"Long before it legally served me, the bar saved me," asserts J.R. Moehringer, and his compelling memoir The Tender Bar is the story of how and why. A Pulitzer-Prize winning writer for the Los Angeles Times, Moehringer grew up fatherless in pub-heavy Manhasset, New York, in a ramshackle house crammed with cousins and ruled by an eccentric, unkind grandfather. Desperate for a paternal figure, he turns first to his father, a DJ whom he can only access via the radio (Moehringer calls him The Voice and pictures him as "talking smoke"). When The Voice suddenly disappears from the airwaves, Moehringer turns to his hairless Uncle Charlie, and subsequently, Uncle Charlie's place of employment--a bar called Dickens that soon takes center stage. While Moehringer may occasionally resort to an overwrought metaphor (the footsteps of his family sound like "storm troopers on stilts"), his writing moves at a quick clip and his tale of a dysfunctional but tightly knit community is warmly told. "While I fear that we're drawn to what abandons us, and to what seems most likely to abandon us, in the end I believe we're defined by what embraces us," Moehringer says, and his story makes us believe it.

Two suggestions from Jan - She is working her way through Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.
About the Author
Alexander McCall Smith is the author of the huge international phenomenon, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, and The Sunday Philosophy Club series. He was born in what is now known as Zimbabwe and he was a law professor at the University of Botswana and at Edinburgh University. He lives in Scotland, where in his spare time he is a bassoonist in the RTO (Really Terrible Orchestra).

She is also reading Avoid Boring People, a memoir by scientist James D. Watson - I believe that Jan recommended avoiding this book!

From Booklist
In this memoir, Watson shows by example how to get to the top and stay there. Spanning his boyhood interest in birds to his resignation from Harvard University in 1976 to his leadership of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Watson's reminiscences encompass his claim to fame—cocredit for deducing DNA's structure in 1953––but focus on his ambition and his conduct of academic politics. He exhibits candor and indulges in gossip, qualities that contributed to the controversy surrounding his account of the DNA breakthrough (The Double Helix,1968) and that enliven this example of the academic memoir, not a genre renowned for excitement. Through arch character sketches, light self-deprecation, and a comic penchant for appraising the behavior and physique of the human female, Watson swings between his scientific aims and the resistance he perceived in Harvard's biology department to molecular genetics. Following each chapter, he appends "manners" derived from his experiences, which in the aggregate amount to making one's mark early and demanding commensurate perks thereafter. In angular and opinionated prose, Watson proves as engaging as ever. Taylor, Gilbert

Laila recommends Ganga: A Journey Down the Ganges River by Julian Crandall Hall.
Book Description
The Ganges has always been more than just an ordinary river. For millions of Indians, she is also a goddess. According to popular belief, bathing in “Mother Ganga” dissolves all sins, drinking her waters cures illness, and dying on her banks ensures freedom from the cycle of death and rebirth.
Yet there remains a paradox: while Ganga is worshipped devotedly, she is also exploited without remorse. Much of her water has been siphoned off for irrigation, toxic chemicals are dumped into her, and dams and barrages have been built on her course, causing immense damage. Ganga is in danger of dying—but if the river dies, will the goddess die too?

Website of the Week: http://bookmooch.com/ - Bookmooch is another book swap site like the Paperback Swap site I mentioned a while back. You earn points for books you give away and use them to "buy" books from other members. They also give you the opportunity to donate your points to different charities who need books - that is totally optional but a nice feature.

Podcast of the Week: NPR: It's All Politics - http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_detail.php?siteId=5495231 -

Vocabulary Word of the Week - kerfuffle

From World Wide Words:
A commotion or fuss.

You will most commonly come across this wonderfully expressive word in Britain and the British Commonwealth countries (though the White House spokesman Ari Fleischer used it in January this year). It is rather informal, though it often appears in newspapers. One of the odder things about it is that it changed its first letter in quite recent times. Up to the 1960s, it was written in all sorts of ways — curfuffle, carfuffle, cafuffle, cafoufle, even gefuffle (a clear indication that its main means of transmission was in speech, being too rarely written down to have established a standard spelling). But in that decade it suddenly became much more popular and settled on the current kerfuffle. Lexicographers suspect the change came in response to the way that a number of imitative words were spelled, like kerplop and kerplunk.

In those cases, the initial ker– adds emphasis, as it does in other words, perhaps onomatopoeic but perhaps also borrowing the first syllable of crash. But we know kerfuffle was originally Scots and it’s thought that its first part came from Scots Gaelic car, to twist or bend. The second bit is more of a puzzle: there is a Scots verb fuffle (now known only in local dialect), to throw into disorder, dishevel, or ruffle. No obvious origin for it is known and experts suspect it was an imitative word. It is probably linked with Scots fuff, to emit puffs of smoke or steam, definitely imitative, which in the late eighteenth century also had a sense of going off in a huff or flying into a temper.

Some specialists think kerfuffle is also related to the Irish cior thual, confusion or disorder. It seems to be a minority opinion, though.

New this week: DVD recommendation - Jan saw Wit, an HBO adaptation of a very powerful and moving story starring Emma Thompson as a woman facing terminal cancer. You can check out the review and details at http://www.hbo.com/films/wit/.

Cooking and Dining Report:
Some good cooking going on in North Boulder this past week - Monday night we had book group at Janet's house and she made her delicious Spicy Shrimp in Coconut Milk - http://www.recipezaar.com/22164 - even someone like me who doesn't generally like coconut really loves this dish.

I helped out with the appetizers and made Butternut-Squash Brushcetta, a recipe from 'Imo Restaurant in New York City which appeared in New York Magazine - http://nymag.com/nymetro/food/inseason/10442/ - it was very interesting and I would make it again but next time I would splurge and get the already peeled and diced butternut squash you can get at Whole Foods.

I also made some very fun bite-size Crabmeat-Avocado Quesadillas with Mango Salsa (you could certanly use regular salsa) I also served them with sour cream - these were from Fine Cooking Magazine - http://notasgoodasporkcracklins.blogspot.com/2005/08/crabmeat-avocado-quesadillas.html

For dinner one night this week, we had Michael Chiarello's Italian Meatloaf - Jack loved it! - http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_35425,00.html - it is just chocked full of some wonderful ingredients.

A great quick and casual recipe for lunch or a light dinner - FontinPanino di Prosciutto e a from Giada de Laurentiis - http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_25162,00.html

A hearty soup hits the spot for a winter Sunday dinner - this is a recipe from the classic Silver Palate Cookbook - Minnestrone with Sweet Sausage and Tortellini - http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Fields/2190/eats/minestr.htm - I used turkey Italian sausage instead of the pork.

Health Alert - Here's a tip that Rae forwarded to me regarding recognizing strokes:

RECOGNIZING A STROKE Thank God for the sense to remember the "3" steps, STR . Read and Learn!

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke .

Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simp le questions:
S * Ask the individual to SMILE.
T * Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently)
(i.e. It is sunny out today)
R * Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE o f these tasks, call 999/911 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher

That's all for now - have a great week ahead! Jack and I are looking forward to the Tattered Cover Writers Respond to Readers event next Saturday - I'll have a full report.

Love,

Susan